The chief executive of Norwegian telecoms firm Telenor claimed it was “no surprise at all” that Telia of Sweden has agreed to pay around NOK 21 billion (USD 2.6 billion) for Norway’s cable and broadband company Get TDC Norge. The deal, subject to regulatory approval, will make Telia the country’s second-biggest company selling TV, broadband and mobile phone services.
“This is no surprise at all,” Telenor CEO Sigve Brekke said when reporting Telenor’s second-quarter results last week. “Get gets a new owner, and Telia get a better position in Norway.”
Newspaper Dagens Næringsliv (DN) reported over the weekend that Telia Norge’s customer base had declined by nearly 100,000 despite acquisitions. The Get TDC purchase will replenish it with around 50,000 mobile customers if competition authorities approve it.
“Competition in the mobile market is hard,” Telia Norge CEO Abraham Foss. Its Swedish parent also announced the purchase just before the weekend of Bonnier Broadcasting, bringing the week’s investment’s to around NOK 30 billion.
Brekke of Telenor, which reported slight declines in operating revenues and profits, claimed state-controlled Telenor won’t respond with any major acquisition of its own, even though it’s sitting on lots of cash from its sales of mobile companies in Bulgaria, Hungary, Serbia and Montenegro. It’s instead targeted for shareholder dividends and investments in its network.
newsinenglish.no staff
