Russia’s MTS to buy NVision for 15 bln rbl, enter IT services mkt

MOSCOW, Jul 17 (PRIME) -- Russian mobile operator MTS has signed a binding agreement to acquire 100% of IT company NVision Group for up to 15 billion rubles, including debt from its major shareholder Sistema, MTS said Friday in a statement.

The deal will be carried out in two stages with the asset to be sold by Sistema’s units Sistema Telecom Assets and RTI.

MTS bought 100% in Sitronics Telecom Solutions and NVision Czech Republic a.s. from NVision, obtaining full control over its own billing and an opportunity to optimize internal IT expenses. Until the end of the year, MTS will buy 100% in NVision by acquiring the IT services business and billing in Ukraine.

The mobile operator will direct more than 10 billion rubles on the repayment of NVision’s debt, and the sellers will receive some 5 billion rubles, MTS’s press secretary Dmitry Solodovnikov said. Synergy effect from the deal will exceed its value by 9 billion rubles, moving to an alternative supplier of billing would cost more.

“The entrance on the market of IT services, IÒ consulting and system integration is another promising way of business diversification, receipt of extra income and growth of client loyalty,” he said.

MTS President Andrei Dubovskov said that the mobile operator will be able to offer comprehensive solutions in terms of a full range of IT services, telecommunications services and system integration services.

“We hope that appearance of IT services, IT consulting and system integration on promising and complementary markets will have a good impact on our business, as now in Russia and in the world, volumes of IT solution markets are big, and growth rates are higher than on traditional telecom markets of the business-to-business segment,” he said.

The deal is part of MTS’s long-term strategy, business diversification and development of innovations.

“Integration of these assets and competences into the MTS group will enable us to offer clients a complete range of products for business informatization, including such popular directions as machine-to-machine solutions, cloud computing and big data analysis,” MTS Vice President Andrei Ushatsky said.

(56.9504 rubles – U.S. $1)

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