Vodafone Hungary to Go into State Ownership

4iG and the Hungarian state concluded the final purchase agreement for the purchase of Vodafone Hungary, 4iG announced on the website of the Budapest Stock Exchange this morning. The value of the transaction is HUF 660 billion and the deal can be closed at the end of January.

According to the announcement by the info-communications company 4iG, its subsidiary “ANTENNA HUNGÁRIA” Plc., together with the Hungarian State, represented by Corvinus International Investment Plc., have entered into a final sale and purchase agreement with Vodafone Europe BV on January 08th, 2023, to acquire a 100% stake in Vodafone Magyarország Plc. (“Vodafone Hungary”), Hungary’s second largest telecommunications company.

Following the completion of the due diligence the parties determined that the enterprise value of
Vodafone Hungary is 660 billion Hungarian Forint, which is 7.1 times the EBITDA of the target company for the financial year ending as of March 31, 2022.

4iG says the acquisition is aimed to be closed at the end January, after the payment of the purchase price, as a result of which 4iG will become the indirect majority owner of 51% of Vodafone Hungary, while the Hungarian State will have an indirect 49% stake.

Analysts note that 4iG also uses public money for the acquisition as the Hungarian government published in the official Hungarian Gazette this Sunday that the state-owned Hungarian Development Bank MFB will open a credit line of some HUF 170 billion for 4iG.