A file photo, dated September 2008, shows Bulgarian mobile operator Globul marking the seventh anniversary since its launch with a party at a restaurant raised 45 meters above the ground in downtown Sofia. Photo by Sofia Photo Agency

Greek telecom OTE announced Thursday that the deal for the sale of Bulgaria's Globul to Norwegian telecoms firm Telenor ASA has been officially concluded.

The information is cited by the Greek "Ethnos" and Bulgarian media.

The transfer of ownership has been carried out in full after it has been approved by the competent authorities.

The sale was agreed on on April 26, 2013.

The sale's price is EUR 717 M on cash and debt free basis.

Globul is Bulgaria's second-biggest mobile telephony operator. It has an estimated 4.6 million customers and revenues in the amount of EUR 377.6 M in 2012.

Globul accounts for about 7% of OTE's sales and about 9% of earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA).

In Bulgaria, Globul competes with Telekom Austria Mobiltel and Vivacom, recently acquired by Bulgarian banker Tsvetan Vasilev, and Russia's VTB Bank.

Telenor is on the markets of Hungary, Serbia and Monte Negro.

At the end of April, Kjell-Morten Johnsen, Executive Vice-President and Head of region Europe, as cited by Capital daily, made clear that the new management would assume control over the mobile operator in Q3, 2013, with plans to make network investments, reduce operating costs, and offer bundle services.

It was announced at the beginning of July that Stein Erik Vellan will be named CEO of Globul.

Stein-Erik Vellan is currently head of mobile at Telenor Norway and previously served as CEO of Telenor Serbia and managing director at the company's Indian unit Uninor.

The impact of the change of ownership of the mobile operator for subscribers is yet unclear, the only certain change being that price-setting will be increasingly driven by data traffic and less by voice transmission, a growing trend all over Europe, Capital Daily informed.

The issue of a name change of the mobile operator remains on the backburner at this stage, as does a potential renting of new frequency ranges from the state.