Orbán cabinet and 4iG make €1.8 billion bid for Vodafone Hungary

Listed IT company 4iG and state-owned Corvinus have entered into non-binding heads of terms with Vodafone Group to acquire 100 percent of the telecom’s Hungarian division for a cash consideration equivalent to an enterprise value of 715 billion forints (EUR 1.8bn), 4iG announced on Monday.

The transaction would give 4iG 51 percent of Vodafone Hungary and the state a 49 percent stake.

The deal is expected to close by end-2022, subject to due diligence, the finalisation of the binding contract and regulatory approval.

“The combination of 4iG and Vodafone is a significant step towards building a Hungarian-owned national champion in the ICT sector,” 4iG said. The deal “creates significant potential for further growth through cross-selling opportunities, full fixed-to-mobile convergence and scale, resulting in major B2B and B2C revenue synergies”, while the potential of infrastructure consolidation “creates sizeable long-term shareholder value from in-market cost and capex saving synergies,” it added.

In a statement, Economic Development Minister Márton Nagy noted the government’s commitment to significantly increase Hungarian ownership in strategic sectors, and said the transaction would facilitate building a Hungarian-owned market leader to meet challenges of the 21st century and contribute to improving the country’s competitiveness, while serving nearly 4 million customers.