Tele1 Europe in talks to acquire Sonera's Swedish wireline Operations

Tele1 Europe in talks to acquire Sonera's Swedish wireline Operations Tele1 Europe AB today announces it is in advanced talks with Sonera to acquire part of the company's fixed data and telephony operations in Sweden for approximately 200MSEK in cash. Under the terms of the proposed deal Tele1 Europe will acquire approximately 1,000 customers, as well as related network equipment and personnel. The deal does not include Sonera's Swedish carrier operations and Geddeholm call centre operations. That portion of Sonera's Swedish business to be acquired by Tele1 Europe reported revenues of approximately 200MSEK in 2000, around two thirds of which were generated by data and internet services. The acquisition will bring Tele1 Europe a number of important benefits: - the expansion of Tele1 Europe's customer base with a significant number of large and medium-sized data and telephony clients, and the opportunity to cross-sell other Tele1 Europeservices; - increased synergies to be gained by bringing the Sonera traffic onto Tele1 Europe's own network infrastructure; - complementary services to enhance Tele1 Europe's product range; and - a highly skilled workforce. "This acquisition accelerates our growth and further strengthens our market position in Sweden. We look forward to offering Sonera's customers a wider range of services," said Ivar Strömberg, CEO of Tele1 Europe Holding AB. It is anticipated that the acquisition, which will be consolidated with Tele1 Europe Holding operations starting from 1st April 2001, will have a mildly dilutive effect on gross margin and EBITDA in the short term while Tele1 Europe transitions customers onto its own network and replaces costly leased-line contracts. However, management expects the deal to enhance margins in the medium term and Tele1 Europe remains on target for EBITDA break-even during Q2 2002. Tele1 Europe's business plan will remain fully funded following the transaction and the company does not expect to incur any redundancy charges as a result of the acquisition. "It is difficult to achieve profitability without your own infrastructure and we believe that Tele1 Europe, with its ambitious targets and its own fibre network, is the right buyer for our Swedish operations," said Lars Lundström, Chairman of the Board of Sonera Sverige AB. Tele1 Europe will hold a telephone conference call today 22 March at 15.30 CET, to present the acquisition and answer questions. The conference will be hosted by Ivar Strömberg (CEO) and Liia Nõu (CFO). The dial in number will be: UK +44 208 401 1043, US +1 800 482 5543. A recorded version of the conference will be available from 16.30 CET, directly after the conference call is finished, until 29 March, on: UK +44 208 288 4459, access code 666 022, US +1 800 625 5288, access code 980 555 Livecasting is also available during the presentation at www.tele1europe.com Further information, please contact: Tele1 Europe Holding AB Sonera Solutions Oy Ivar Strömberg, CEO Lars Lundström, Deputy Managing Director Phone: +46 (0)8 5631 0001 Phone: +358 (0)2040 64534 Mobile: +46 (0)701-810 001 Mobile: +358 (0)40 718 1537 E-mail: E-mail: lars.lundstom@sonera.com ivar.stromberg@tele1europe.se Tele1 Europe Holding AB Liia Nou, CFO Phone: +46 (0)8 5631 0233 Mobile: +46 (0)701-810 233 E-mail: liia.nou@tele1europe.se About Tele1 Europe (NASDAQ: TEUR, Stockholm Stock Exchange: TEUR) Tele1 Europe is a rapidly expanding data and telecommunications operator with activities in Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Norway. The company provides broadband solutions for data, Internet and voice, to large and mid-range businesses in the Nordic region. Tele1 Europe is currently the only pan Nordic data and telecommunications operator investing in local access networks with broadband capacity. The company is constructing networks in the 80 largest cities in the Nordic region. The access networks, which are linked by a long-distance network, will be one of Europe's fastest data and Internet super-highways with an initial capacity for customers of up to one gigabit. The company was founded in 1995 and has around 1000 employees. The head office is in Stockholm and there are an additional 24 offices located in the Nordic region. For further information: www.tele1europe.com Facts about Sonera Sonera started operations in Sweden in 1995. Sonera Sverige AB is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sonera Corporation, Finland's leading telecom business, which is active in 14 countries. For further information: www.sonera.com ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by BIT http://www.bit.se The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2001/03/22/20010322BIT01150/bit0001.doc http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2001/03/22/20010322BIT01150/bit0001.pdf