Russia's MTS snaps up MTT in CPaaS drive
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Russia's MTS snaps up MTT in CPaaS drive

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Russia’s largest mobile operator, Mobile TeleSystems PJSC (MTS) has acquired MTT for ₽5 billion (US$69 million) on an enterprise value basis.

MTT, which provides connectivity solutions for businesses, is active in PBX and CPaaS, two segments that are on track to see significant growth in the Russian market.

According to MTS, the transaction has already been approved, and has received a green light from the Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS).

MTT Group CEO Evgeny Vasiliev said: “We have been on a long journey that saw us evolve from being a ‘heavyweight’ transit operator to becoming Russia’s market leader in telecom API and unified communications.

"This has proven that we made a smart bet with MTT’s innovation strategy, which is aimed at winning in this dynamically growing segment. We are developing in both of our growth directions and we expect to see significant growth in the near future. The deal with MTS will enable MTT to open a new page in its history. The potential synergies in telecommunications as well as cloud and voice services will unlock additional opportunities to help our companies’ business clients further digitally transform their operations,” Vasiliev continued.

MTT was founded in 1994 to facilitate inter-operator network coordination. Today it operates three key business lines: unified communications, telecom API (XaaS / CPaaS) and conversation agents (voice bots).

MTT also operates its own MVNO and has developed an overarching tool to create and launch MVNOs, the Mobile Virtual Network Enabler.

Inessa Galaktionova, MTS first VP for telecommunications, said: “Today, the global virtual PBX and CPaaS market is seeing exceptional double-digit growth of around 15-20% a year. While the Russian sector is still developing, we believe it is poised to take off and could outpace the global market over the next few years. Acquiring an established player will enable us to jump start our portfolio, accelerating our ambition to become a market leader in the segment,” she said.

Galaktionova continued: “By integrating MTT’s solutions we can better meet the market’s growing needs for reliable, real-time customer communication, which is particularly important in high-growth tech sectors such as ecommerce, telemedicine, eticketing, and ride-hailing and delivery.”

Majority-owned by Sistema PJSFC, MTS is considered Russia’s largest mobile operator and also provides network-native digital services.

Earlier this month, MTS CEO Vyacheslav Nikolaev, was elected to the GSMA board.

 

 

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