Sorainen and Weil Gotshal have advised Providence Equity Partners on its acquisition of the Bite telecom group from Mid Europa Partners for an undisclosed value. Cobalt and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer advised Mid Europa Partners in the transaction, which is expected to close in the first quarter of 2016.
Providence Equity Partners is a global asset management firm with USD 45 billion in assets under management across complementary private equity and credit businesses.
The Bite Group controls a leading mobile operator in the Baltic countries (the second largest in Lithuania and number three in Latvia). The Group offers a range of mobile services, Internet access, and data services to over 1.58 million business and residential customers. Mid Europa acquired Bite in 2007 from Danish operator TDC for EUR 450 million.
Frederick Hrenchuk, CEO of Bite, commented: "With Mid Europa's support we have developed Bite into one of the most dynamic, high quality and customer oriented mobile operators in Europe. We are grateful for their strong commitment to Bite's long term strategy and look forward to further strengthening the business under the ownership of Providence.”
Michelle Capiod, Partner of Mid Europa commented: "Combining strong leadership and execution, Frederick Hrenchuk and his team have focused on delivering an outstanding customer experience, which has proven to be a winning strategy for Bite. We would like to thank Bite management and employees for their outstanding achievements and wish them continued success as they embark on an exciting journey with their new owner."
The Sorainen team was led by Partners Algirdas Peksys and Laimonas Skibarka and included Specialist Counsel Stasys Drazdauskas, Senior Associates Jonas Kiauleikis, Jurgita Karvele, Ieva Andersone, and Janis Bite, and Associates Jorens Jaunozols, Natalija Sestakova and Valts Nerets.
Cobalt’s team in Lithuania consisted of Partner Elijus Burgis and Senior Associate Eva Suduiko. The firm’s team in Latvia consisted of Partner Guntars Zile and Senior Associate Toms Sulmanis.
Image Source: www.bite.lt
