News
Deal expected to increase telco’s mobile enterprise market share by 14 percentage points; Telia Carrier establishes new Croatia PoP.
Telia on Monday agreed to acquire Norwegian SME services provider Phonero for 2.3 billion kroner (€253.11 million).
According to Telia, Phonero has 25,000 customers and approximately 250,000 mobile subscriptions on its books. Telia said the transaction will increase its share of the mobile enterprise market to 27% from 13%.
"This is another important step in creating a leading player in both consumer and enterprise across the Nordics and Baltics," said Telia CEO Johan Dennelind, in a statement.
In the 12 months to 30 June, Phonero reported net sales of NOK1.1 billion and adjusted EBITDA of NOK217 million. Monday’s deal is expected to generate annual synergies of NOK400 million, mainly from transferring traffic to Telia’s own networks, with limited effect in 2017 and full effect in 2018.
"The transaction will strengthen Telia’s position as a true alternative to the incumbent in the Norwegian B2B market," said Abraham Foss, CEO of Telia’s Norwegian unit.
"We have complementary knowledge, expertise and service solutions that will help to create added value for business customers. It will strengthen the competition in the Norwegian B2B market and enables us to create more innovation, better customer journeys and ensure a diversity of services for the benefit of all customers," he said.
The deal is subject to approval by Norway’s competition watchdog. It is expected to close in the first quarter of 2017.
Zagreb calling
Meanwhile, in a separate announcement, Telia’s wholesale arm, Telia Carrier established a new point of presence (PoP) in Zagreb, Croatia, enabling it to provide wholesale IP transit and Ethernet services for carriers, content providers, and cloud providers.
Zagreb has become a conduit for connectivity, Telia Carrier said, with the fastest-growing Internet penetration rate in the region.
"By moving into Zagreb, in addition to existing PoPs in Budapest and Vienna, Telia Carrier strengthens its presence in a high-growth IP transit market in Croatia, and improves the customer experience for those using online gaming and content services provided in the region," said Jerzy Willisowski, director of sales, Europe, at Telia Carrier.
