Swedish incumbent TeliaSonera is expanding in Kazakhstan after agreeing to make two acquisitions in the country.
The first one will see TeliaSonera buying the WiMax operations of Kazakh company Alem Communications for a value of US$170m. “The…
Swedish incumbent TeliaSonera is expanding in Kazakhstan after agreeing to make two acquisitions in the country.
The first one will see TeliaSonera buying the WiMax operations of Kazakh company Alem Communications for a value of US$170m. “The acquisition includes a WiMax network in six major cities, and, in particular, valuable frequencies in the 2.5/2.6GHz band,” the company said.
The Swedish operator, together with Visor Group – a Kazakh investment bank – also agreed to buy a minority stake in KazTransCom for US$35m. Listed on the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange, the company has a nationwide fibre optic network in the country.
These transactions come a few months after TeliaSonera agreed to acquire an additional 49% stake in local mobile operator Kcell for US$1.52bn.
In the statement today, TeliaSonera said that Kcell has signed a five-year lease agreement for backbone capacity with KazTransCom.
Commenting on the deals, Tero Kivisaari, president of Business Area Eurasia at TeliaSonera, added: “[These transactions] will be crucial for Kcell’s continued leadership in the rapidly growing mobile data sector and reaffirm our strategic commitment to developing mobile technologies and services in Kazakhstan.”
TeliaSonera declined to reveal the names of the legal and financial advisers working on these deals, which are subject to regulatory approval.
