Orban tightens hold over telco sector as Vodafone sells Hungarian unit

LONDON, Aug 22 (Reuters): Britain's Vodafone will sell its Hungarian business for 715 billion forints ($1.8 billion) in cash to local IT company 4iG and the Hungarian state, consolidating the hold of Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government over the telecoms sector.
Orban, in power since 2010, has expanded his nationalist government's influence in areas such as energy, banking and the media, which it considers strategic, and long harboured plans to tighten its grip over the telecoms sector.
The deal - which does not include Vodafone's shared services business VOIS - is expected to create Hungary's second largest telecoms operator. 4iG will hold a majority 51 per cent stake while the Hungarian state will hold 49 per cent.
"The combination of 4iG and Vodafone is a significant step towards building a Hungarian owned national champion in the (Information and Communications Technology) sector," 4iG said in a statement on Monday.
The British mobile phone and broadband group said it had agreed non-binding terms with the buyers, 4iG and state-run Corvinus Zrt.
Minister for Economic Development Marton Nagy in a statement noted the government's prior successes with boosting ownership in other strategically important sectors.