Published: 5/2 2015
Norway's competition authority approves TeliaSonera's acquisition of Tele2's Norwegian operations. As part of the concessions to get the deal approved, Network Norway's customer base is being sold to ICE. TeliaSonera and Tele2 agree that the price will therefore be adjusted down from SEK 5.1 to 4.5 billion on a debt-free basis. At the same time, TeliaSonera reiterates the ambition that 98 percent of Norwegians will have access to 4G already next year - two years earlier than the communications authority requires.
- I am glad that the competition authority sees the benefits of this deal. It is good, not only for our and Tele2's customers, but for the whole of Norway. We are becoming a stronger and more credible alternative to Telenor in their home market and we are now increasing the pace of the expansion of mobile internet even further, says Johan Dennelind, President and CEO of TeliaSonera.
Already by summer, 4.5 million Norwegians – 90 percent of the population – and 370 municipalities will have access to 4G in TeliaSonera's network. TeliaSonera's ambition is to reach 98 percent of the population with mobile internet significantly faster than the responsible authority Nkom requires.
The negotiations with the competition authority, the Competition Authority, have been constructive and aimed at securing competition in the mobile market. There are now opportunities for a third player to establish themselves in Norway.
As part of the agreement, TeliaSonera has entered into an agreement with the mobile operator ICE regarding partly national roaming, partly the sale of the customer base and the marketing and sales organization in Network Norway, which offers telephony solutions to companies. Network Norway is part of Tele2 and has approximately 90,000 business subscriptions. As a result, above all, of the sale of Network Norway, the value of Tele2's Norwegian operations is reduced from SEK 5.1 to 4.5 billion.
The cost synergies are not changed by the new conditions, but are estimated - just as before - at at least SEK 800 million annually, with full effect in the second half of 2016. The integration costs remain in the range of SEK 250-450 million and investments to handle the increased traffic are estimated at SEK 350 million, of which SEK 140 million was taken last year.
