Lebanon's Hariri Family to Take Over Bulgarian Telco Vivacom

The Lebanese company Oger Telecom will take over Bulgarian Vivacom within a month, according to unconfirmed reports.

Oger is owned by elite Lebanese family Hariri, which has included two PMs of Lebanon, Rafik and Saad, the first of whom founded the company.

Oger is directed by his older brother Mohammed Hariri, who has embarked on a project for expansion in Europe.

On Saturday, the Trud paper reported that Oger Telecom is expected to buy 25% of Vivacom, in addition to taking over its operative management.

Oger will also have the option to buy the majority of the shares within a year.

The deal is reported to be "extremely complicated." The buyer will not be paying much for the shares, but instead will be obliged to pay Vivacom's loans to various banks, which amount to over EUR 1.3 B.

Vivacom - formerly know as the Bulgarian Telecommunications Company (BTC) - has gone through a number of controversial privatization deals.

The majority share of the company is at present held by Viva Ventures, a subsidiary of London-based equity fund Advent International.