TeliaSonera sells North Sea Communications AS to HitecVision
Telia Norge AS, a company owned by TeliaSonera has entered into an agreement to sell all of its shares in North Sea Communications AS (NSC) to HitecVision for approximately SEK 170 million. NSC operates a fiber optical cable system between Norway and the UK, providing the offshore oil and gas industry in the southern part of the North Sea with high speed and low latency communications.
NSC was established in 1998 as a joint venture between TeliaSonera and Enitel. Since 2001, TeliaSonera has been the single owner of the company. The divestment of NSC is in line with TeliaSonera’s decision to focus on its core strategy of being a leading telecommunications operator.
HitecVision has a strong focus on this sector of the telecom industry, and through the transaction customers of NSC will get a strong owner that is able to provide a solid telecom carrier to serve the growing needs of the offshore oil and gas industry.
The transaction is subject to approval from relevant competition authorities, and is expected to be closed in August.
TeliaSonera will recognize a capital gain of approximately SEK 90 million, reported as non-recurring item.
About HitecVision:
HitecVision is the largest private equity investor in Europe to specialize exclusively in the oil and gas sector. HitecVision currently manages three funds with a total committed capital base of about USD 1.4 billion, for leading investors in Norway and internationally. The funds invest in growth companies in the oil and gas sector. For more information, please visit www.hitecvision.com.
Contact HitecVision
Pål M. Reed, Senior Partner, +47 92 26 71 71
For more information, please call the TeliaSonera press office 46-771 77 58 30, press@teliasonera.com
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 with a wholly-owned international carrier network. In 2010, net sales amounted to SEK 107 billion, EBITDA to SEK 37.7 billion and earnings per share to SEK 4.73. The TeliaSonera share is listed on NASDAQ OMX Stockholm and NASDAQ OMX Helsinki. Read more at www.teliasonera.com