Nordic telco Tele2 has hired ABG Sundal Collier Holding to advise on options for its operations in Norway after losing out in the country’s latest 4G auction.
The Stockholm-based company said options include a sale, entering into a strategic…
Nordic telco Tele2 has hired ABG Sundal Collier Holding to advise on options for its operations in Norway after losing out in the country’s latest 4G auction.
The Stockholm-based company said options include a sale, entering into a strategic partnership, or continuing to grow the asset organically.
Group CEO Mats Granryd said: “Exploring various strategic options is an on-going part of our responsibility towards our shareholders. However, we cannot speculate on the potential outcomes of any such discussions.”
Berenberg analyst Barry Zeitoune yesterday said a sale of Tele2 Norway could raise around SEK4bn (US$620m).
The review comes after Tele2 became the only major player in Norway not to pick up extra frequencies in the country’s spectrum auction in December, which came at odds to the telco’s strategy to strengthen its focus on mobile. That drive saw it sell off Swedish fixed line assets last year.
Tele2 Norway already holds 900 MHz and 2,100 MHz spectrum but unlike its larger competitors it has yet to launch 4G in the country. In the aftermath of December’s auction disappointment, the telco said it would look at joint ventures and other forms of partnership to grow in Norway, as well as taking part in an upcoming sale of 1800 MHz frequencies that were left unsold in the latest sale.
The comments prompted speculation that it could partner with Access Industries, which bought Norwegian telco Ice.net in 2009 and is also present in Sweden and Denmark. Access Industries spent the most in December’s auction, paying NKr705m (US$114.84m) for frequencies in the 800 MHz, 900 MHz and 800 MHz bands.
As a trend towards consolidation appears to be sweeping Europe, with the European Commission currently reviewing four to three deals in Germany and Ireland, a sale of Tele2 Norway would likely attract a mix of strategic and institutional players.
Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa, which is seeking to buy Telefonica-owned O2 Ireland, has been tipped as a possible buyer.
Together with Access Industries, Tele2 Norway’s local competitors are TeliaSonera and Telenor, the incumbent telcos of Sweden/Finland and Norway, respectively.
Tele2, of which Swedish investment group Kinnevik holds 48.0% of the votes and 30.4% of the capital, sold its Russian assets last year for around US$3.55bn.
Last month Roxanna Zea, the operator’s executive vice president of group strategy, announced plans to resign after diverging views on its strategic planning and execution.