The Melita Group is up for sale, with interest being shown from private equity firms and telecoms groups, according to online news portal TMT Finance.

The portal said the first round bids were submitted on March 20.

Contacted by Times of Malta, Melita chairman Joe Gasan declined to confirm the news, but said: “Melita was purchased in 2007 by private equity firms.

“It is quite normal for investors to build up a company and sell it on within four to six years.

“Now that six years are up and the company’s value has been built up and it is doing well, it is a fact that it would sooner or later be sold as a going concern.”

TMT Finance quoted sources saying the company – owned by GMT Communications Partners, MC Venture Partners, Gasan Group and Blackrock Communications Ltd – is valued at up to €300 million but Mr Gasan declined to comment on its value.

The Melita group of companies offer IP-based digital cable TV, broadband internet, fixed-line telephony and mobile voice services. It also owns and operates an undersea submarine optical fibre cable and opened a data co-location centre in Madliena a few months ago. It launched a nationwide Wi-Fi service last week.

According to the Malta Communications Authority, Melita held 48 per cent of the broadband market in June 2013, 55 per cent of the television market, 29 per cent of fixed-line subscribers and 13 per cent of mobile.