Play acquires UPC Poland

Ten post dostępny jest także w języku: polski

The first information about the Iliad Group’s interest in acquiring UPC Polska appeared as early as July 2021, but at the time ISP stressed that it was too early to draw far-reaching conclusions. Two months later, we already know that P4, the operator of the Play network, will take over UPC for PLN 7 billion. The transaction will result in a strong participant providing telecommunications services to over 17 million customers.

Transaction worth PLN 7 billion

The owner of the Play network, the Iliad Group and the internet service provider UPC Polska have formally agreed to take over the operator. The contract was concluded on September 22, and the transaction itself is to amount to PLN 7 billion. The takeover requires only the approval of the European Commission, which acts as the market regulator.

This is already the second high-profile acquisition of the Iliad Group on the Polish telecommunications market. Earlier, in September 2020, the French group acquired mobile operator Play. However, according to the plans, Iliad does not want to stop only at the current investments.

Implementation of the announced strategy

Earlier, one of the main priorities presented by Iliad Group on the Polish market was to enter the market of fibre-optic Internet, which it ultimately wanted to provide to individual customers. The service was to reach up to 2 million households and the group wanted to focus on regions where other operators on the Polish market did not have their own infrastructure.

Now, thanks to the acquisition of UPC Polska, the group will gain access to 3.7 million fibre-optic households and 1.5 million subscribers. The operator does not want to reveal too many details about the future of the group.

“Play and UPC will join forces to create a strong convergent operator in Poland” – Jean Marc Harion, CEO of Play, announces.