GTS Telecom Romania CEO Razvan Stoica (photo) said that Deutsche Telekom acquired the Polish group GTS to expand into the area of fixed communications and the centralised service provided by GTS to customers in the Eastern Europe region. His comments come in an interview with local publication Hotnews.ro, according Telecompaper. A contract signed in Prague with a regional customer requires it to provide a service to that customer both locally in the Czech Republic, but also in Hungary and Romania, Stoica said. Deutsche Telekom completed the acquisition of the GTS Polish group, with operations in Romania, in summer 2014. The transaction amounted to EUR 546 million. Deutsche Telekom did not acquire GTS Slovakia as it anticipated that such an acquisition would raise competition issues on the Slovakian market.
Deutsche Telekom acquired the GTS Group as GTS operates complementary services to mobile telephony, and to expand through GTS' significant customer portfolio, its profitability, as well as its know-how in the operation of fixed services. Deutche Telekom has its own customers and has some customers in common with GTS, too, Stoica said. A back-up service is offered to common customers in which one of the operators is the main provider and the other is a back-up provider, due to the different infrastructure being offered.
Stoica said he expects a strategic alignment of the two companies' services. GTS will have access to Deutsche Telekom's portfolio of services, benefit from its resources and finish some projects that are in GTS' area of competence, Stoica added.
