Telekom Austria maintained its focus on becoming a major player in Central and Eastern Europe with an agreement to acquire Croatia-based fixed-line enterprise provider Metronet telekomunikacije through its local subsidiary Vipnet.

Metronet runs an enterprise fibre network and supplies corporate telecoms services to organisations across Croatia. Its infrastructure is accessible to 85 per cent of businesses in the country, according to data released by Telekom Austria in a statement to financial markets.

The Croatian company offers data, voice, managed IT and cloud services to 4,300 corporate customers in major urban centres, which accounted for 90 per cent of its 2015 revenues. According to its latest financial statement, Metronet generated pre-tax revenues of €28 million and EBITDA of €12 million in 2015.

In its statement, Telekom Austria revealed it will finance the acquisition from existing cash flow. The operator noted that the deal must still be cleared by merger control regulators, stating that if such approval is forthcoming it expects to complete the purchase during Q1 2017.

Metronet is currently owned by a consortium of private Croatian investors comprising financial institutions including Quaestus Private Equity Fund and private individuals.

Telekom Austria’s Croatian subsidiary Vipnet already provides mobile, IPTV and fixed telephony services to consumers and businesses across the country. The acquisition of Metronet extends Telekom Austria’s capabilities as a provider of fixed-mobile convergence (FMC) services in Croatia, and is also a boost for parent company America Movil’s European expansion plans.

The Mexico-headquartered operator holds a controlling 51 per cent stake in Telekom Austria, which it acquired as part of a broader strategy to expand its presence in the European telecoms market.

Telekom Austria’s move on Metronet is its second such deal in recent weeks. In November the company secured an agreement to acquire Belarus-based fixed line operator Atlant Telecom and its subsidiary TeleSet.