Exclusive-Telecoms among targets in investor PPF’s European expansion drive

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By Jan Lopatka and Michael Kahn

PRAGUE (Reuters) – PPF Group, the investment vehicle owned by central Europe’s richest family, will seek more acquisitions across its portfolio including potentially some United Group assets in south-east Europe and other telecom firms, its CEO Jiri Smejc told Reuters.

Billionaire investor Smejc took over managing PPF in 2022 on behalf of the family of his long-time business partner Petr Kellner after his death in a heli-skiing crash.

He has since led a shift away from Russia and Asia to Western markets, taking stakes in German TV group ProsiebenSat.1, parcel box firm InPost, streaming services provider Viaplay and other assets.

Smejc said in a rare interview that PPF, which has assets of 44 billion euros ($47 billion) and puts the Kellner family at 106th position in the Forbes global list of billionaires, would look for growth in telecoms and other core areas, including media, financial services, and e-commerce.

“We try to focus on the larger businesses we have, and investments we are looking for are concentrated in these areas,” he said, highlighting the importance of industrial know-how.

Although PPF took a hit from the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and regulatory changes in China, it has restructured its holdings and grown profits faster than expected, Smejc said.

UNITED GROUP

Smejc sold half of PPF’s telecoms businesses in central-eastern Europe plus one share to UAE’s e& for 2.15 billion euros in a deal closed last month, creating the e& PPF Telecom Group.

He said it is now looking at concrete acquisitions, including potentially telecoms and pay-TV operator United Group.

Reuters reported in June that Saudi Arabia’s STC Group was considering an offer for United Group, which is majority owned by BC Partners.

A source with knowledge of the matter said United Group’s telecoms assets in south-eastern Europe have been put up for potential sale.

“There are certainly several assets there that fit well into the topology of our business in this part of Europe,” Smejc said of a possible deal.

“We have told ourselves we would look at it but at the moment the situation seems a little bit unclear, which direction it will go.”

BC Partners did not respond to request for comment.

Smejc also said PPF and e& would be interested in some European Vodafone assets, but there were no talks underway.

PROSIEBEN

Smejc said he was unhappy with pace of progress in reshaping Germany’s ProSiebenSat.1, where PPF is the second-largest shareholder with a 15% stake.

Shareholders at ProSiebenSat.1 have pushed for the sale of its e-commerce units. Smejc said he was not happy with the sale pace and further changes at the company.

“To put it simply, we do not have the feeling that the management is doing a good enough job,” Smejc said of the way that ProSiebenSat.1 was being run.

“When I compare it to our companies, the sense of urgency that we feel when we try to turn a negative trend is completely different than what we see from the management,” he said.

Asked about possible pressure for management changes, Smejc said that would mainly be up to ProSiebenSat.1’s largest shareholder MFE-MediaForEurope.

“Either the management needs to accelerate the pace at which, as if they owned the company, carries out the restructuring, or the shareholders will have to react,” he said, adding the company had potential if managed well.

Smejc also denied recent Polish media reports saying PPF, whose CME unit owns television groups in six central and east European markets, may be interested in Warners Bros. Discovery’s Polish unit TVN.

“We have so far not made any step whatsoever to look at this asset, because we have other priorities at the moment,” he said. Smejc said he was happy with PPF’s 28.75% holding in InPost, whose shares have risen 80% since PPF’s 2023 entry. He said PPF was not considering a takeover offer. He said PPF has also not shelved the idea of a tie-up of its trains manufacturing unit with Spain’s Talgo, although Talgo had earlier this year rejected PPF. An industrial tie-up could work even if the firm has new shareholders, he said.

PPF STAKE

Smejc, whose net worth is estimated by Forbes at $1.17 billion, took over as PPF CEO for three years in June 2022.

His package includes options for a stake of up to 10% in PPF if undisclosed benchmarks were met.

But, Smejc said for the first time, it was likely that there would be a financial settlement instead.

“At the moment, we are talking more about the second option … to settle financially. That is our mutual agreement,” Smejc said, adding that whether he stayed beyond three years was “an open matter”.

“I’m enjoying many things here, so if the terms make sense for both sides, it is certainly something I can imagine.”

($1 = 23.5130 Czech crowns)

($1 = 0.9292 euros)