U.S. Kohlberg Kravis Roberts takes over SBB

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) said in a release Tuesday that it had signed a final agreement to take over SBB/Telemach Group from the Mid Europa Partners company.

SBB-Srpske Kablovske Mreze (Serbian Cable Networks) will continue to be managed by a team led by company's founder Dragan Solak, who will keep a significant stake in SBB/Telemach Group.

Financial details of this transaction have not been revealed yet.

SBB/Telemach Group is a leading cable and Internet operator in southeast Europe, the market of 20 million consumers.

This operator operates in Serbia, Slovenia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro and Macedonia, and it has about 1.7 million subscribers to cable and satellite television, Internet and fixed and mobile telephony.

Director of the KKR Team for Telecommunications and Technology Henrik Kraft expressed satisfaction with the partnership with Solak and his team that had built a "strong and sophisticated TV and communications platform."

Kraft added that people at KKR were happy to support SBB's further development.

Solak stressed that the experience, knowledge, global resources and network of the KKR company would be very significant for SBB in the next phase of development.

- This is our first direct investment in southeast Europe - KKR's co-founder Henry Kravis pointed out, adding that the company had invested in more than 40 European companies in 12 countries to date.

KKR is a global investment company that managed USD 83.5 billion worth of assets at the end of June.