Telenor IPO fails to generate interest or revenue

Norwegian telco Telenor's stock market debut failed to attract investor enthusiasm today.

The state-owned telco went ahead with plans to privatise 21 per cent of its business despite current sector uncertainty. The public offering took place on both the Oslo and Nasdaq stock markets. Telenor originally hoped to trade at between NKr50 (£3.76) and NKr68 (£5.12) in Oslo but was forced to slash its price to NKr42 (£3.16). At the close of Oslo bors shares were trading at NKr40.10 (£3.02). The company was hoping to raise NKr15.6bn (£1.17bn) but managed only NKr9.7bn (£730m). In the US, Telenor had begun trading its 6.7 million US shares at $13.63 each, below its already-lowered range of $13.87 to $14.86 per share. Sluggish investor interest affected other telecommunications shares in the Nordic region today. Fellow operators Tele Denmark, Sonera and Elisa all saw between 8 and 10 per cent slumps in their share price.