TeliaSonera and Telenor withdraw from merger in Denmark

TeliaSonera and Telenor today announce the withdrawal of the proposed merger of their respective business units in Denmark. The companies have not been able to agree with the European Commission on acceptable conditions to go ahead with their plan to create a robust mobile operator.

In December last year, TeliaSonera and Telenor reached an agreement to merge their Danish operations. The new joint venture would have created a mobile operator that would be able to increase investments in networks and technology, to the benefit of the Danish customers.
  
“Since the beginning, we have been strong advocates for the need to increase investment levels in Denmark. In our view, creating a market player with the scale and ability to compete and invest would ensure that customers and businesses would benefit from better quality, speed and coverage,” says Robert Andersson, Executive Vice President and Head of Region Europe in TeliaSonera.
  
However, the merger discussions have now reached a point where it is no longer possible to gain approval for the proposed transaction.
  
“In the interests of both companies, we felt it necessary to act decisively. TeliaSonera and Telenor will continue to compete and deliver products and services in the Danish market through our respective original, and still fully up-and-running Danish operations,” says Kjell Morten Johnsen, Executive Vice President and Head of Telenor Region Europe.
 
TeliaSonera and Telenor now continue to review the strategic options in the Danish market.
   
Analyst and media telephone conference at 9 a.m. CET
  
TeliaSonera invites you to a conference call with TeliaSonera’s CFO Christian Luiga.
  
Dial-in number: +44 (0) 1452 560304
Access code: 37601449
  
You can also listen to the conference  call afterwards until September 17, 2015.
Replay number: +44 (0) 1452 55 0000
Access code: 37601449
  
TeliaSonera AB discloses the information provided herein pursuant to the Swedish Securities Markets Act and/or the Swedish Financial Instrument Trading Act. The information was submitted for publication at 8 a.m. CET on Sept 11, 2015.

For more information, please contact the TeliaSonera press office 46 771 77 58 30, press@teliasonera.com, visit our Newsroom or follow us on Twitter @TeliaSoneraAB.
  
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements made in the press release relating to future status or circumstances, including future performance and other trend projections are forward-looking statements. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the future. There can be no assurance that actual results will not differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements due to many factors, many of which are outside the control of TeliaSonera.

TeliaSonera provides network access and telecommunication services in the Nordic and Baltic countries, the emerging markets of Eurasia, including Russia and Turkey, and in Spain. TeliaSonera helps people and companies communicate in an easy, efficient and environmentally friendly way. Our ambition is to be number one or two in all our markets, providing the best customer experience, high quality networks and cost efficient operations. TeliaSonera is also the leading European wholesale provider who owns and operates one of the world's most extensive fiber backbones. In 2014, net sales amounted to SEK 101.1 billion, EBITDA to SEK 35.2 billion and earnings per share to SEK 3.35. The TeliaSonera share is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm and Nasdaq Helsinki. Read more at www.teliasonera.com.