Siveco May be in Sale Talks With Hungary’s Magyar Telekom

Siveco Romania, the IT software developer currently majority-owned by Siveco Netherlanden BV (42.2%), may be in sale talks with Hungarian telecom company Magyar Telekom. Romania is one of the more desirable CEE markets for IT outsourcing due to its low cost and highly skilled workforce. A company like Siveco would enable Magyar Telekom to expand its IT services in the region. Though the story has appeared in the Hungarian media, Siveco maintains it is not currently speaking to anyone about a potential sale.

Siveco Romania (www.siveco.ro)
Siveco is a software developer and IT service provider focusing on eBusiness, eEducation, eGovernment, and eHealth in Central and Eastern Europe. The company claims among its customers millions of students, teachers, and educators; hundreds of business and government organizations; and thousands of physicians and other health-related professionals.

Siveco earned revenues of €49 million revenues in 2009; turnover was down from the € 66.5 million posted in 2008 but management expects a 25% increase this year. Siveco is based in Bucharest and employs more than 850 people.

Magyar Telekom (www.telekom.hu)
Established in 1989 with the break-up of Magyar Posta, Magyar Telekom was a state-owned enterprise until it was privatized in 1993.

The company provides telecommunication services in Hungary, Macedonia, and Montenegro including land-line telephone and data transmission, mobile telephone service, internet access, and cable television.

As a subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom, Magyar posted income of €290 million in 2006 on revenues of €2.5 billion. The company employs more than 12,000 people and makes its home in Budapest.