United Group

Overview

United Group B.V.

type	Private
industry	Mass media Advertising Telecommunications Cable television
founded	2007
founder	Dragan Šolak
hq location	Spicalaan 41
hq location city	2132 JG Hoofddorp
hq location country	Netherlands
area served	Serbia Bosnia and Herzegovina Montenegro Slovenia North Macedonia Croatia Bulgaria Greece
key people	Stan Miller (Chief executive officer) Libor Vončina (deputy CEO)
brands	Telemach BH Telemach Croatia Telemach Montenegro Telemach Slovenia CAS Media Serbia CAS Media Slovenia Vivacom Nova
owners	BC Partners (majority) KKR (minority)
website	https://united.group/

United Group B.V. is a multinational media conglomerate that operates mass media and telecommunications business across Southeast Europe based in Hoofddorp, Netherlands.

History

United Group was formed in 2007, as a Luxembourg-registered multinational entity, in a merger of Serbia Broadband (SBB) and two companies named Telemach, one in Slovenia and the other in Bosnia and Herzegovina.[1] Telemach Montenegro became a part of United Group in 2014. Telemach acquired Tušmobil on 1 April 2015.[2] This being a cable acquisition of a mobile network makes it a unique case in the region, and the first step of United Group into providing all telecommunication services (landline, mobile, television, and internet) in one household.[3]

United Group is the largest alternative

Legal disputes & criticism

When United Group announced its acquisition of Vivacom, the largest Bulgarian telecom, United Group was added to the list of defendants in a lawsuit by Empreno Ventures, which disputes the ownership of Vivacom and the sale of the company.[17]

When Vivacom announced that it would be buying smaller regional companies, it faced backlash from PPF, owner of Yettel Bulgaria, and A1 Bulgaria, since the acquisitions would give them a monopoly in multiple provinces, including Ruse, Silistra, Varna, Razgrad and Sofia.[18] Vivacom denied the claims that it was monopolising the market.[19]

Serbia

After United Group's deal to divest Serbian telecom assets and transfer sports rights to Telekom Srbija, concerns were raised that United Group's Serbian broadcasters could face increased political pressure or a shift in editorial stance. Telekom Srbija has been portrayed by critics as a central instrument for dominance in Serbia's media market and has invested around €2 billion in sports rights, acquisitions of smaller operators, and the financing of pro-government broadcasters. Pro-government outlets carried on such platforms have been reported to denounce protesting students and other government critics using terms such as "foreign mercenaries", "traitors" and "Nazis", while portraying the protests as a "colour revolution" allegedly controlled by Western actors. After an illegally recorded phone call between the chief executives of United Group and Telekom Srbija was made public in summer 2025, additional concerns were reported about possible influence on United Group's Serbian news outlets. United Group described the recording as taken out of context and stated that editors-in-chief would retain their authority and that no layoffs were planned. The creation of ANN and Sadler's appointment were presented as safeguards intended to prevent undue influence from political actors, shareholders, or group management.

In mid-August 2025, leaked internal communications and photos, published by OCCRP,[20] revealed that Stan Miller, the new CEO of United Group (appointed in June by its majority owner BC Partners), traveled to Belgrade for meetings with Vladimir Lučić, CEO of state-owned Telekom Srbija. These discussions reportedly focused on weakening United Media, particularly N1, one of the last independent broadcasters in Serbia.

Miller reportedly acknowledged that he understood the Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić's dissatisfaction with Subotić not having been dismissed yet but asked for more time, citing the need to implement other prior changes.[20]

United Group

History

Technological development

Telecommunication platforms

United Media

Advertising space

Documentaries

General entertainment

Children

Films

News

Sports

Legal disputes & criticism

Serbia

External links

References