PE-backed GTS goes to Deutsche Telekom for €546m

Deutsche Telekom bought the entire operations of the Central and Eastern European (CEE) telecommunications provider, except its network based in Slovakia. 

Other private equity and venture capital houses that held a stake in GTS include Columbia Capital Partners, HarbourVest, Innova Capital and MC Partners. The consortium originally acquired GTS in 2008 from private investment banking firm GML (formerly Group Menatep), with Columbia Capital Partners and MC Partners being the lead investors in the transaction.

Company
GTS is a telecommunications provider that currently serves around 38,000 customers in CEE. The company operates a 26,000 km fibre-optic network and 14 data centres in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.

GTS Central Europe was founded in 1993 as a subsidiary of US telecommunications company GTS Inc. The firm reported a turnover of €347m and an EBITDA of €87m in 2012, excluding the Slovakia business. GTS, which is headquartered in Warsaw, currently employs 1,350 staff.

People
Timotheus Höttges is CFO at Deutsche Telekom. Claudia Nemat is board member for Europe and technology at Deutsche Telekom. Danny Bottoms is GTS's CEO.

Advisers
Vendors – Edwards Wildman (Legal).
Acquirer – Noerr (Legal); Travers Smith (Legal).

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• Topics
• CEE
• Exits
• Technology
• Trade sale
• Columbia Capital Partners
• Bessemer Venture Partners
• HarbourVest
• Innova Capital
• Oak Investment Partners