Latvia-based Hannu Pro, which will operate four out of six nation-wide DTT multiplexes in Bulgaria, has refuted reports of an upcoming merger with the other player on the market Slovakia’s Towercom.

“There are no merger negotiations between Hannu Pro and Towercom at the moment and I see no need for such talks,” Gintars Kavacis, Managing Director of Hannu Pro, said in an interview for Kapital weekly.

He conceded however that the two companies are planning to share expertise and investments in a bid to lower costs for the construction of DVB-T networks and the price for the final consumers.

“This is the strategy that was chosen in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, where the multiplexes owners operate the DVB-T infrastructure jointly,” Kavacis said.

Asked whether Hannu Pro will operate the towers and facilities of Bulgaria’s National Unit Radio and TV Systems (NURTS), a joint venture between the Bulgarian Telecommunications Company, which was recently rebranded as Vivacom, and Cyprus-based international financial investor Mancelord Limited, represented in Bulgaria by Bromak Ltd., majority shareholder in Corporate Commercial Bank, Hannu Pro Managing Director said:

“This is the only option that makes sense. Otherwise the cost of the project will rise at least three times. We can not even say how much time we would need to build new towers.”

Gintars Kavacis pointed out that the company has always been seeking expansion outside the Baltic states.

“Bulgaria offered such an opportunity last year. The country resembles Latvia, that’s why we decided to take that risk and take part in the digitalization,” he said.

Hannu Pro Bulgaria is completely owned by Hannu Pro with member companies implementing numerous large scale TV and broadcast projects in Baltic States including solutions for nationwide DVB-T and IPTV.

The Bulgarian subsidiary of Slovakia’s Towercom was recently acquired by Cyprus-based international financial investor Mancelord Limited in a deal concluded via NURTS Bulgaria.

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