Top management reshuffle at Vivacom: Director leaves, Spas Rusev returns

The turmoil at United Group has also reverberated in Bulgaria, where the company owns the telecom operator Vivacom. Chief Executive Officer Nikolay Andreev is stepping down, and former owner Spas Rusev is returning to the company's Supervisory Board.

The position of CEO will be temporarily taken over by long-time CFO Asen Velikov.

The application for the change in the Supervisory Board has been submitted to the Commercial Register and is currently being processed, according to a check by Economic.bg.

Viktoria Boklag and Yaniz Zhivko are leaving the current board. They will be replaced by Spas Rusev and Stanley Miller. Nikolaos Statopoulos will remain on the board.

Vivacom confirmed the news in a press release, which did not specify the reason for the reshuffle.

The new Supervisory Board wishes the management team and employees of the company continued success in their work at Vivacom as a leading telecommunications operator that has accelerated the development of the entire market, stimulated digital transformation, and set a new standard for connectivity and services in Bulgaria for the benefit of consumers," the statement said.

Turmoil at United Group

The reshuffle at the Bulgarian telecom comes amid turmoil at its owner, United Group, where a fierce battle for control has been raging for months between founder Dragan Sholak and majority shareholder BC Partners. The conflict reached its peak in June when Sholak was unexpectedly removed from management along with CEO Victoria Boklag.

In response, Sholak filed a lawsuit against UG. The founder described BC Partners' actions as "an act of revenge" for his earlier legal action in London against United Group for non-payment of agreed bonuses of €200 million.

The reshuffle, which began months ago, is also taking place amid speculation about a possible sale of the entire United Group for €8 billion. Information about this appeared in the international media a year ago, claiming that BC Partners was planning to divest all or part of its stake in the company and had requested non-binding offers from various players.

In Bulgaria, United Group also owns the media group around Nova TV.

The return of Spas Rusev

Spas Rusev, who was the main shareholder in Bulgarian Telecommunications Company (operating under the Vivacom brand), concluded a deal to sell the operator in 2019 for €1.2 billion. After the deal was finalized, he remained on the United Group's Supervisory Board for two years to help ensure a smooth transition during the change of ownership.

At the end of August 2022, Rousev finally left the company.

Meanwhile, the businessman acquired the struggling television provider Bulsatcom, a deal that drew sharp criticism due to its financing with a loan from United Group and concerns about a hidden acquisition.

Translated with DeepL.