Telenor to sell central, eastern Europe units for $3.4bn

Bloomberg

Telenor agreed to sell its businesses in central and eastern Europe to Czech billionaire Petr Kellner’s investment firm PPF Group for $3.4 billion as the Norwegian phone company focuses on markets in Asia and Scandinavia.
Telenor will share some of the proceeds with its shareholders, the Fornebu, Norway-based company said. The sale includes Telenor’s mobile operations in Hungary, Bulgaria, Montenegro and Serbia and the technology service provider Telenor Common Operation. The businesses contributed about 9 percent of Telenor’s revenues and 8 percent of profit in 2017, the company said.
Headed by CEO Sigve Brekke, Telenor has sold its online classifieds operations in Latin America, reduced its stake in operator Veon Ltd. and exited India, in efforts to streamline its portfolio and free up resources for investments in growth markets such as Thailand and Bangladesh. The company has also used buybacks and dividends to send cash back to investors, and plans to pay a special dividend of 4.40 kroner a share after the divestment announced.
“Following this transaction, Telenor’s footprint will consist of integrated fixed and mobile operations in Scandinavia, and strong mobile positions in Asia,” Brekke said. “We take an important step in simplifying and focusing Telenor’s portfolio on the regions where we see the strongest potential for value creation.”
Telenor began considering a sale of the businesses two months ago, when it said it had received takeover interest for the units. The Norwegian company’s divestment follows deal activities in the Scandinavian telecom sector.