Resultat av försäljning av delar av aktieinnehavet i MegaFon

Not for release, publication or distribution, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, into or in the United States, Canada, Australia or Japan or any other jurisdiction in which offers or sales would be prohibited by applicable law. This announcement does not constitute or form an offer of securities in the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan or any other jurisdiction.

Please see the important notice at the end of this announcement.

Telia Company tillkännager härmed resultatet av det anbudsförfarande avseende försäljning av aktier i MegaFon som inleddes den 2 oktober riktat mot institutionella placerare. 

I anbudsförfarandet har Sonera Holding B.V., ett av Telia Company AB helägt dotterbolag, åtagit sig att sälja 38,5 miljoner aktier i MegaFon till ett pris av 585 RUB per aktie, totalt 22 522 MRUB (motsvarande cirka 3,2 GSEK) med en positiv pro forma effekt på nettoskuld/EBITDA med 0,1x.

– Telia Company är en av grundarna av MegaFon och har från början aktivt medverkat till att företaget blivit ledande på den mobila och digitala marknaden i Ryssland. Då vi fokuserar på Norden och Baltikum enligt strategin för att bli den nya generationens telekombolag, är det naturligt att minska vår exponering i MegaFon. Telia Company kommer efter försäljningen av delar av vårt aktieinnehav att förbli den näst största ägaren i MegaFon och vi kommer att fortsätta det konstruktiva samarbetet med den största ägaren USM Group för att skapa värde för samtliga aktieägare, säger Johan Dennelind, vd och koncernchef Telia Company.

Efter den avslutade försäljningen äger Telia Company cirka 19 procent av aktierna i MegaFon. Som ett resultat av transaktionen så kommer MegaFon att omklassificeras från intressebolag till en finansiell tillgång från och med det fjärde kvartalet 2017. Transaktionen påverkar inte Telia Companys utsikter för helåret 2017.

Telia Company har åtagit sig att inte sälja ytterligare aktier i MegaFon under 90 dagar efter det att försäljningen har avslutats (om inte Joint Bookrunners uttryckligen ger sitt godkännande till detta eller sedvanliga undantag föreligger).

Försäljningsbeloppet betalas kontant enligt sedvanliga villkor.

BofA Merrill Lynch, Citi och Morgan Stanley agerar så kallade Joint Bookrunners i transaktionen.

Denna information är sådan information som Telia Company AB är skyldigt att offentliggöra enligt EU:s marknadsmissbruksförordning. Informationen lämnades, genom ovanstående kontaktpersons försorg, för offentliggörande den 3 oktober 2017 kl. 08.00 CET.

För mer information, kontakta gärna vår presstjänst: 0771 77 58 30, besök Newsroom och följ oss på Twitter @Teliacompany.

Framtidsinriktade uttalanden
Uttalanden i pressreleasen avseende framtida förhållanden och händelser, inklusive framtida utveckling och uttalanden om trender, är framtidsinriktade uttalanden. Till sin natur är sådana framtidsinriktade uttalanden osäkra och innefattar risk eftersom de hänför sig till eller är beroende av framtida förhållanden som ännu inte inträffat. Det kan inte garanteras att framtida resultat inte kommer att avvika väsentligt från de angivna eller förutskickade beroende på ett flertal faktorer, varav många är utanför företagets kontroll.

IMPORTANT NOTICE

This announcement is not for publication or distribution, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States. The distribution of this announcement may be restricted by law in certain jurisdictions and persons into whose possession any document or other information referred to herein comes should inform themselves about and observe any such restriction. Any failure to comply with these restrictions may constitute a violation of the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.

This announcement does not contain or constitute an offer of, or the solicitation of an offer to buy, securities to any person in the United States, Australia, Canada or Japan or in any jurisdiction to whom or in which such offer or solicitation is unlawful. The shares referred to herein have not been and will not be registered under the US Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) and may not be offered or sold in the United States except pursuant to a transaction an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the Securities Act. The offer and sale of shares referred to herein has not been and will not be registered under the applicable securities laws of Australia, Canada or Japan. Subject to certain exceptions, the shares referred to herein may not be offered or sold in Australia, Canada or Japan or to, or for the account or benefit of, any national, resident or citizen of Australia, Canada or Japan. There will be no public offer of the shares referred to herein in the United States, Australia, Canada or Japan or elsewhere.

The shares in MegaFon have not been approved or disapproved by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, any state securities commission or other regulatory authority in the United States, nor have any of the foregoing authorities passed upon or endorsed the merits of the Placing or the accuracy or adequacy of this announcement. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offence in the United States.

In member states of the European Economic Area (“EEA”) (each, a “Relevant Member State”), this announcement and any offer if made subsequently is directed only at persons who are “qualified investors” within the meaning of the Prospectus Directive (“Qualified Investors”). For these purposes, the expression “Prospectus Directive” means Directive 2003/71/EC (and amendments thereto, including the 2010 PD Amending Directive, to the extent implemented in a Relevant Member State), and includes any relevant implementing measure in the Relevant Member State and the expression “2010 PD Amending Directive” means Directive 2010/73/EU. In the United Kingdom, this announcement is directed exclusively at Qualified Investors (i) who have professional experience in matters relating to investments falling within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005, as amended (the “Order”) or (ii) who fall within Article 49(2)(A) to (D) of the Order, and (iii) to whom it may otherwise lawfully be communicated (all such persons together being referred to as “relevant persons”), and any investment activity to which it relates will only be engaged in with such relevant persons and it should not be relied on by anyone other than such persons. Persons in the United Kingdom who are not relevant persons and persons in other Relevant Member States who are not Qualified Investors should not take any action on the basis of this announcement and should not act or rely on it. In the Netherlands, this announcement and any offer if made subsequently is directed exclusively at qualified investors (gekwalificeerde beleggers) within the meaning of the Dutch Act on Financial Supervision (Wet op het financieel toezicht). 

Merrill Lynch International (“BofA Merrill Lynch”), Citigroup Global Markets Limited (“Citi”) and Morgan Stanley & Co. International plc (“Morgan Stanley” and together with BofA Merrill Lynch and Citi, the “Joint Bookrunners”), each of which is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Commission and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Commission in the United Kingdom, are acting exclusively for Telia Company and no-one else in connection with the Placing. They will not regard any other person as their respective clients in relation to the Placing and will not be responsible to anyone other than Telia Company for providing the protections afforded to their respective clients, nor for providing advice in relation to the Placing, the contents of this announcement or any transaction, arrangement or other matter referred to herein.

No prospectus or offering document has been or will be prepared in connection with the Placing. Any investment decision in connection with the Placing must be made on the basis of publicly available information. Such information has not been independently verified. The information contained in this announcement is for background purposes only and does not purport to be full or complete.

Each of the Joint Bookrunners and their respective affiliates expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to update, review or revise any forward looking statement contained in this announcement whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.

In connection with the Placing, the Joint Bookrunners and any of their respective affiliates may take up a portion of the shares referred to herein as a principal position and in that capacity may retain, purchase, sell, offer to sell for their own accounts such shares and other securities of MegaFon or related investments in connection with the Placing or otherwise. In addition, the Joint Bookrunners and any of their affiliates may enter into financing arrangements (including swaps or contracts for differences) with investors in connection with which the Joint Bookrunners and any of their affiliates may from time to time acquire, hold or dispose of shares. Accordingly, references to the shares being issued, offered, subscribed, acquired, placed or otherwise dealt in should be read as including any issue or offer to, or subscription, acquisition, placing or dealing by, the Joint Bookrunners and any of their affiliates acting in such capacity. None of the Joint Bookrunners intends to disclose the extent of any such investment or transactions otherwise than in accordance with any legal or regulatory obligations to do so.

None of the Joint Bookrunners or any of their respective affiliates or any of their or their affiliates’ directors, officers, employees, advisers or agents accepts any responsibility or liability whatsoever for or makes any representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the truth, accuracy or completeness of the information in this announcement (or whether any information has been omitted from the announcement) or any other information relating to Telia Company, Megafon, their subsidiaries or associated companies, whether written, oral or in a visual or electronic form, and howsoever transmitted or made available or for any loss howsoever arising from any use of this announcement or its contents or otherwise arising in connection therewith.

This announcement may include statements that are, or may be deemed to be, “forward-looking statements”. These forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the terms “believes”, “estimates”, “plans”, “projects”, “anticipates”, “expects”, “intends”, “may”, “will” or “should” or, in each case, their negative or other variations or comparable terminology, or by discussions of strategy, plans, objectives, goals, future events or intentions. Forward-looking statements may and often do differ materially from actual results. Any forward-looking statements reflect Telia Company’s current view with respect to future events and are subject to risks relating to future events and other risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made.

Vi är Telia Company, den nya generationens telekomföretag. Våra 21 000 duktiga kollegor möter miljontals kunder varje dag i världens mest uppkopplade länder. Vi är knutpunkten i det digitala ekosystemet som gör det möjligt för människor, företag och samhällen att få tillgång till allt som är viktigt för dem, på deras villkor, dygnet runt – året om. Vi har bestämt oss för att förändra it-och telekomindustrin och föra världen närmare våra kunder och vårt huvudkontor ligger mitt i teknik- och innovationshjärtat Stockholm. Läs mer på www.teliacompany.com.                     

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