Greece's third largest mobile phone operator, TIM Hellas Telecommunications SA, has been sold for €3.4 billion (US$4.4 billion) to an investment firm controlled by Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris, head of the Middle East's largest GSM operator Orascom Telecom.
Funds advised by private equity firms Texas Pacific Group and Apax Partners Worldwide LLC on Wednesday announced the sale of TIM to Sawiris' Weather Investments SPA for euro500 million (US$648 million) of equity plus euro2.9 billion (US$3.8 billion) of net debt at year end 2006.
Apax and TPG acquired TIM Hellas from Telecom Italia in June 2005 for euro1.6 billion (US$2.1 billion). In January 2006, the consortium completed the follow-on acquisition of Q-Telecom, the fourth largest Greek mobile operator, from Info-Quest SA for euro360 million (US$466 million).
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