Forthnet

The deal for the acquisition of a 33% stake in Forthnet between the BC Partners investment group and the creditor banks of the Greek telecommunications company was all but sealed on Friday, with the only issue still pending being the bridge funding of 15 million euros from the British group to Forthnet for the period until the acquisition is approved by the competition authorities.

The signing of the sale contracts for 350 million euros of Forthnet's loans from the creditor banks to United Group appears to be just a matter of days, banking sources tell Kathimerini.
This is also confirmed by sources at British equity fund BC Partners, which is United's parent group.

Telecommunications company Forthnet, whose creditors have entered into exclusive negotiations with BC Partners for the concession of its shares and debts, announced on Thursday that it had reversed the trend of previous years in which it registered a drop in in broadband subscriptions to post growth of 0.2 percent in 2019 to 550,967, while its pay-TV (Nova) subscribers in Greece and Cyprus fell

This Friday, or next week at the latest, the creditors of Forthnet will convene to select which of the three bidders for the acquisition of the telecommunication company's obligations will shoulder its loans and buy out the firm that operates Nova satellite TV.

Greek broadband internet users have to wait from one to three weeks for connections to be repaired, according to data from the National Commission for Telecommunications and Post (EETT).

Greece has seen an increase of at least 50 percent in internet use in recent days following the government's decision to restrict citizens' movements to slow the spread of the new coronavirus, according to officials at the Digital Governance Ministry who indicated however that telecommunications networks are handling the strain so far.

Listed telecommunications provider Forthnet on Tuesday reported a 5.6 percent decline in triple-play subscribers in the first half of the year compared to the same period in 2017, and a 2.7 percent drop in the number of subscribers in Greece and Cyprus for its satellite pay-TV platform Nova.

Forthnet and the BBC, along with their partners the Institute for Research and Technology at Iraklio on Crete, Queen Mary University of London and Universidade Nova de Lisboa in Portugal, will present their research project titled "Cognitus" at the International Broadcasting Convention this September in Amsterdam.

Troubled alternative telecommunications provider Forthnet has four suitors - two from the industry (Vodafone and Wind) and two others which have not been named but are private equity funds with a strategic interest.

The expressions of interest in acquiring Forthnet - owner of the Nova satellite TV platform - were made last Friday, as consultant Nomura had dictated.

Greece's four main banks on Thursday authorized Japanese company Nomura International to seek a strategic investor for telecom provider Forthnet, in a bid to cover the Greek corporation's financial exposure.