Romanian tycoon Zoltan Teszari, one of the country’s richest people, keeps such a low profile that local newspapers are often forced to use 20-year-old photographs of the multimillionaire.

Now, a potential deal in Spain has thrust the company that built the reclusive 53-year-old entrepreneur’s fortune into the spotlight, Bloomberg writes.

The Spanish unit of Digi Communications is poised to become one of the biggest winners of the country’s telecommunications consolidation. Digi, which grew from a shop selling phone cards to the Romanian diaspora in the southern European nation into its fifth-largest telecom operator, is favored by European Union regulators — according to documents seen by Bloomberg — to receive a bonanza that will likely turbo-charge its growth in the country.

Digi’s windfall is linked to a planned €18.6 billion ($20.2 billion) merger of Orange SA’s local unit and Masmovil Ibercom SA, Spain’s No. 2 and No. 4 carriers respectively, that would take a major competitor off the market. The EU has previously rejected such combinations, seeking to foster competition that favors consumers. But declining profits at the national carriers and a desperate need to find funds to build out 5G networks may convince regulators to let this one go through as long as the companies promise to sell certain assets to rivals. With Orange and Masmovil expecting to win approval for their deal by year-end, Digi is the EU’s preferred acquirer of the assets and has reached a preliminary accord to buy them, according to people familiar with the matter.

How the Orange-Masmovil merger unfolds is being closely watched across much of Europe, with its success potentially triggering a wave of consolidation, especially in highly competitive markets like Spain, Italy, France and Denmark. Fewer players may bring improving margins, and could lead to greater funds to European telecom networks and help close an estimated investment gap of €174 billion. In October, Vodafone Group Plc agreed to sell its struggling Spanish unit to Zegona Communications Plc, an investment firm that makes money overhauling challenged businesses.

“Mergers and other potential acquisitions look set to disrupt the status quo,” said Ahmad Latif Ali, EMEA telecommunications insights lead at IDC, adding that the proposed Orange-Masmovil merger is a litmus test for the Commission’s stance on consolidation. The deal, which could give Digi some key assets is “a unique chance,” and could be “a transformative moment for the company," he said.

Digi, whose business model still mostly depends on renting network connectivity from big operators, is already growing in Romania and Spain. It has broader ambitions for Europe, expanding into Portugal and Belgium next year. It has started building its fixed network in Portugal, and said it’s on track to launch services there in the second quarter of 2024. In Belgium, Digi entered a joint venture with local operator Citymesh last year and recently signed a five-year roaming deal that will ensure mobile services for clients starting in the second half of next year.

“Looking beyond 2023, we are pleased to be advancing with our entry into the Portuguese and Belgian markets, where we aim to replicate our affordable, high quality service model, thereby ensuring our continued growth in the European telecom landscape,” Digi Chief Executive Officer Serghei Bulgac said in the company’s earnings statement last month.

Although not involved in every twist and turn of operations, Teszari, who owns about 60% of Digi, is the ultimate decision maker for the group and calls the shots on all its big decisions, from its strategy to M&A, company officials say. Teszari, who rarely speaks to the press, declined to comment on his firm’s plans for the future.

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