Țuca Zbârcea & Asociații advised Vodafone Romania on the acquisition of Telekom Romania Mobile Communications
Vodafone Romania announced the successful completion of its acquisition of the stake held by Hellenic Telecommunications Organization S.A. (OTE) in Telekom Romania Mobile Communications S.A. The process is part of a complex agreement with a total enterprise value of EUR 70 million by which Vodafone Romania acquired the shares from OTE in Telekom Romania Mobile Communications, while the prepaid business and certain assets of Telekom Romania Mobile Communications were sold to DIGI Romania.
Vodafone Romania successfully completed a landmark deal by purchasing OTE’s stake in Telekom Romania Mobile Communications for a consideration of about EUR 30 million. The transaction strengthens Vodafone Romania’s position on the Romanian telecom market. The two companies will continue to operate as separate legal entities albeit part of the same group until completion of the legal merger process, which is expected to take place in 2026.
Simultaneously, DIGI Romania took over from OTE certain assets of Telekom Romania Mobile Communications, along with the prepaid mobile telecommunications services business.
The combined enterprise value of the deal amounts to EUR 70 million.
A team of Romanian and British lawyers from Țuca Zbârcea & Asociații and Osborne Clarke, respectively, assisted Vodafone Romania throughout the acquisition process, ensuring the successful completion of all legal aspects, along with other tax, financial and economic advisors chosen by Vodafone Romania.
The diverse team at Țuca Zbârcea & Asociații was led by Ștefan Damian, Deputy Managing Partner. The group included lawyers specialising in corporate law, M&A, telecom regulations, competition/antitrust & FDI screening, data protection, real estate and labour law: Vlad Cercel, Partner (corporate and commercial law, telecom regulations); Sergiu Crețu, Managing Associate (corporate and commercial law, mergers and acquisitions); Raluca Vasilache, Partner (competition law, antitrust, investment screening); Andreea Oprișan, Partner (competition law, antitrust, investment screening); Ciprian Timofte, Partner (data protection); Alexandra Pereș, Partner (real estate); Mihai Anghel, Partner (labour law).
Other team members also played an active role in the deal, providing support in the due diligence process and contributing to the drafting and review of the transaction documents: Dana Barbu, Managing Associate (intellectual property); Daniela Manolea, Senior Lawyer (data protection); Evelina Popa, Senior Lawyer (corporate and commercial law); Ioana Pătrașcu, Lawyer (corporate and commercial law).
“We are proud to have worked on a landmark project in the Romanian telecom market: a long-lasting, sophisticated transaction that required a lot of hard work, expert knowledge and creativity. We are grateful to Vodafone Romania for this opportunity and for the outstanding cooperation we've had with their legal and compliance teams throughout this period. Moving forward, we will continue to offer legal assistance on post-closing issues, such as during the integration process”, said Ștefan Damian, Deputy Managing Partner of Țuca Zbârcea & Asociații.
According to Vodafone Romania, the transaction will involve substantial further investment, particularly on network integration, complementing more than EUR 6.5 billion invested so far by Vodafone over the last 28 years of presence in Romania. The acquisition contributes to the consolidation of the telecoms market, ensuring the right scale for innovation and substantial investments in the future of the Romanian industry.