Swedish mobile operator TeliaSonera plans to sell its North Sea Communications (NSC) fibre division to PE firm HitecVision for around SEK 170m (US$26m).
The companies expect to receive regulatory approval for the sale of NSC, which serves the oil and gas…
Swedish mobile operator TeliaSonera plans to sell its North Sea Communications (NSC) fibre division to PE firm HitecVision for around SEK 170m (US$26m).
The companies expect to receive regulatory approval for the sale of NSC, which serves the oil and gas industry though a cable network that connects the UK to Norway, in August.
NSC was originally established back in 1998 as a JV between TeliaSonera and Norwegian utility Enitel. TeliaSonera has been the single owner of NSC ever since Enitel became bankrupt in 2001.
In a statement on 21 July, the Swedish firm said: “The divestment of NSC is in line with TeliaSonera’s decision to focus on its core strategy of being a leading telecommunications operator.”
According to TeliaSonera, the proposed deal will see it recognise a capital gain of approximately SEK 90m (US$14m), to be reported as a non-recurring item.
Announcing Q2 results on 20 June, the group stated that net sales for the three months to the end of June decreased 4.3% to SEK 26bn (US$4bn), compared with SEK 27bn (US$4.2bn) for the corresponding period last year. Q2 2011 EBITDA, excluding non-recurring items, fell 0.9% to SEK 9.11bn (US$1.416bn), compared with SEK 9.194bn (US$1.43bn) for Q2 2010.
Commenting on the results at the time, Lars Nyberg, president and CEO of TeliaSonera, said: “Growth in net sales improved compared to the first quarter and was achieved with significant improvement in profitability.
“The EBITDA margin, excluding non-recurring items, increased to 35.2%, an increase for the eleventh consecutive quarter on a rolling 12 month-basis. The decline in earnings per share can be explained by currency movements and weaker results from our associated companies.”
