The Government has ordered a comprehensive review of 4iG’s contracts with the state, Prime Minister Péter Magyar said in a Facebook post on Monday. Unusual in Hungary for combining telecommunications, IT, digital infrastructure, space and defence under a single corporate umbrella, 4iG has expanded internationally while its space and defence activities have become a major strategic pillar, making it one of the country’s most diversified technology groups.
‘Harsh scrutiny’ over taxpayers’ billions
Mr Magyar said four ministries would take part in the probe of 4iG, which he described as the “mothership” of “NER” companies – a Hungarian acronym for businesses that benefited from large state contracts under the former Fidesz-KDNP administration. He said 4iG had won state IT contracts “in the billions” during the 2010s before “switching into a much higher gear” from 2022, citing the issue of HUF 389 billion in bonds under a National Bank of Hungary (NBH) programme and a capital raise of more than HUF 400 billion at Antenna Hungária, after which 4iG acquired a majority stake in the telecoms operator.
In 2023, Mr Magyar added, Antenna Hungária and the Hungarian state acquired Vodafone Magyarország in a deal worth HUF 660 billion, with the state-owned Hungarian Development Bank (MFB) providing financing for 4iG’s stake. He also noted 4iG’s acquisition of the state’s majority stake in automotive group Rába and the subsequent transfer of a stake in the business to a foreign company.
Mr Magyar added that 4iG had been the general contractor for an “overpriced” programme to supply elderly people with remote medical alert bracelets. “We are talking about several thousand billion forints of taxpayers’ money. The Hungarian people have a right to know what happened to their money,” he said, adding that the results of the probe would be published.
If the review raises any suspicion of graft, Mr Magyar said reports would be filed with the relevant authorities. He warned against any efforts to strip assets from the group.
The 4iG story: from telecoms to state-backed conglomerate
The rise of 4iG is not merely the tale of a fast-growing IT firm: within a few years, through a deliberate acquisition strategy, substantial financing and close ties to the state, it has built a conglomerate spanning telecommunications, defence and space.
The central figure in this process has been Gellért Jászai, who as chairman and chief executive – and a defining shareholder – has steered the group’s expansion. After 2020, 4iG moved quickly to consolidate Hungary’s telecoms market, acquiring DIGI, Invitech and a controlling stake in Antenna Hungária, before culminating in the 2023 purchase of Vodafone Hungary in partnership with the state. The Vodafone deal, valued at HUF 660 billion, was underpinned by significant public financing: the 4iG group secured €425 million from the state-owned MFB and a further €750 million via Eximbank, which also acted as an intermediary in the structure.
State involvement did not end with telecoms. In 2025, 4iG and the Hungarian Government agreed to establish a joint defence-industry holding, under which 4iG could acquire a 75 per cent majority stake. That same year, a HUF 50 billion state-funded facility supported the group’s push into military technology. By 2025, the model was delivering substantial results: 4iG reported revenue of HUF 733.9 billion, EBITDA of HUF 275 billion and adjusted profit after tax of HUF 36 billion.
Defence and space: the new frontier
Having consolidated its domestic position, 4iG’s ambitions have turned decisively international. In the United States, the group’s defence and space arm, 4iG Space and Defence Technologies (4iG SDT), completed a $100 million investment in Axiom Space by early 2026, becoming a strategic shareholder in the Houston-based developer of commercial space stations and orbital infrastructure. The investment is intended to give 4iG a foothold in the development of orbital data centres, commercial space stations and other space-industry assets.
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In Israel, 4iG has worked with the state-owned defence giant Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) on the restructuring of satellite operator SpaceCom. Under a joint proposal, IAI would take an 80 per cent controlling stake, with 4iG retaining 20 per cent and providing part of a $12 million subordinated shareholder loan. Through these partnerships, 4iG aims to market defence and space technologies internationally, leveraging its Hungarian base and state connections.
A regional player with global aspirations
In little more than half a decade, 4iG has transformed from a domestic IT and telecoms operator into a regional, and increasingly global, technology, defence and space group. The Hungarian consolidation phase is largely complete; the next chapter is defined by cross-border investments, strategic shareholdings in US and Israeli space firms, and an explicit goal of becoming a significant international player in high-tech defence and orbital infrastructure.
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