Greece's OTE to buy Romanian mobile company Zapp

(Adds Cosmote Romania's chief executive)

ATHENS, June 30 (Reuters) - The Balkans' biggest telecoms company OTE (OTEr.AT) said on Tuesday it agreed to buy Romanian mobile operator Zapp for 207 million euros ($292.5 million) to gain a 3G service in the region's largest cell phone market.

"The price ... is expected to reach 61 million euros (equity value) while Cosmote will assume debt and other obligations worth about 146 million euros," OTE unit Cosmote said in a statement.

Zapp, Romania's fourth-largest mobile operator, owns a 3G licence in Romania, an asset which OTE's Romanian mobile unit, Cosmote Romania, lacks. Zapp had 2008 revenues of 61 million euros with more than 374,000 subscribers.

Cosmote Romania is the Balkan country's third-largest mobile phone operator with a market share of more than 20 percent.

OTE is counting on its Romanian mobile operations to boost revenues as business in its other markets slows down due to economic crisis.

"With the deal signed today, a new cycle of growth ... begins for Cosmote Romania," said Cosmote Romania's chief executive Michael Tsamaz.

Cosmote Romania's sales rose at an annual pace of 84 percent in the first quarter, while OTE's group revenues dropped by 5.4 percent to 1.45 billion euros.

The deal is subject to regulatory approval.

German telephony giant Deutsche Telekom (DTEGn.DE) last year bought a 25 percent stake of OTE for 3.2 billion euros.

((harry.papachristou@thomsonreuters.com; +30 210 3376455; Reuters Messaging: harry.papachristou.reuters.com@reuters.net))

($1=.7077 Euro) Keywords: OTE ROMANIA/

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