Telecommunication company Primetel has announced that Signal Capital Partners, a London-based private equity fund, is set to acquire the Cypriot firm after it was placed under administration.
According to a Primetel statement, Signal Capital Partners has funded the development of Primetel’s new mobile network and will continue to support the company’s operations and investment needs with confidence in its and its staff’s capabilities.
“Primetel will continue its strategic commitment to continuous development, investment in its network and exemplary expansion of the quality services it provides, offering its subscribers the best possible experience,” said the statement.
It emerged Friday, Primetel was placed under administration on July 18 after it defaulted on a loan it acquired from Signal Capital Partners.
The situation has caught the attention of the Office of the Commissioner for Electronic Communications and Postal Regulation, George Michaelides, which is currently looking into the matter.
The regulatory body is expected to issue a statement in the coming days to address concerns over the potential ramifications of Primetel’s administration.
Meanwhile, the fate of Primetel could affect Cyprus football as the company holds exclusive television broadcasting rights for Omonia and AEK until 2024.
Primetel is the third-largest licensed mobile operator in Cyprus.
According to data, during the fourth quarter of 2022, Primetel held a significant market share in fixed-line telephony (10.7%) and fixed broadband access (11.7%).
It has a 13.7% IPTV cable TV market share, third behind CyTA and Cablenet.
Its share in the mobile market reaches 10.6%.
As reported by Kathimerini Cyprus Edition, this may not mean the end of the company, as the appointed administrator Marios Kallias told the outlet.
Kallias said: “Nothing changes, not only for the TV rights but all services the company provides”.
He said company staff would remain in place, the services offered remain as they are, and its contracts are not affected by being in administration.
“This is an issue between the shareholders and the investors, who had some differences between them, which brought changes to the control regime of the company.
“The fact that the company went into receivership has nothing to do with debts to the bank and has nothing to do with the company’s activities,” stated the administrator.
Signal Capital Partners is a London-based asset management firm focused on European special situation investment opportunities across corporate and real estate sectors.
Signal was established in 2015 by a highly seasoned management team pooling together skills across asset and structural complexity.
With €2.5 bln in Assets under Management and 40 dedicated investment and operations professionals, Signal is a meaningful provider of financing solutions to the private markets.
