The telecommunications arm of Karel Pražák’s KAPRAIN financial group has completed the six-year process of consolidating independent operators – providers of internet access and television content. The process culminated in the 100% acquisition of SMART Comp. a.s., which operates the Netbox network and its own networks in Brno as well as in central and northern Moravia and the Vysočina region, which was finalized today. The stake was purchased by KAPRAIN’s subsidiary Nej.cz, which has successfully consolidated the most significant ISPs on the Czech market. It has now reached third place on the domestic fixed telecommunications market with 236,000 active lines and more than 500,000 households. It also has a significant competitive advantage in its predominance of optical networks.

As KAPRAIN Investment Officer Marcel Dostal said, this was one of the last acquisition targets of this size on the Czech market: “In recent years, we were able to convince significant players with high-quality infrastructure that were also independent of the big three mobile operators. Through these acquisitions, we created a telecommunications unit that offers services throughout the Czech Republic. The acquisition of Netbox is the successful completion of this consolidation, because there practically isn’t any other potential takeover target of a similar size on the Czech market.”

Although KAPRAIN and Nej.cz do not rule out further purchases of high-quality assets, it’s clear the wave of large acquisitions on the market is at an end. That was confirmed by the words of Nej.cz CEO Jaroslav Hanyk: “We will focus on the integration of the acquired companies, improving our services for current and new customers, and to continue to increase our technological standards in the coming years. After all, that is a continually ongoing and never-ending process for us.”