Telenor snaps up Tele2's fibre broadband business for €88m
Telenor announced today it has made an acquisition in neighboring Sweden.
Telenor's Swedish subsidiary Telenor Sweden has acquired Tele2 Sweden's consumer-focused cable and fibre business, for SEK 775m (€88m) in cash.
370,000 customers
With the move, the Norwegian incumbent telco has acquired a total of 370,000 new Swedish household customers. Of these, 125,000 are fixed broadband customers, 75,000 are digital TV customers, and 220,000 households are cable TV subscribers.
In 2012, Tele2 Sweden unit reported revenues of SEK 530m (€60.3m). Telenor has now paid almost SEK 2,100 (€239) per customer, with a yearly ARPU (average revenue per user) of around SEK 1,400 (€163).
The customers it's picked up from Tele2 will be transferred to Telenor's Swedish ISP Bredbandsbolaget.
The customers' network will be connected to Telenor's network in Sweden, and get the services offered by Bredbandsbolaget through the network.
Under the agreement, Telenor will take over the entire business, including 68 employees, who will move to Telenor's Swedish operation.
"We want to continue our commitment to fixed broadband and TV through our Bredbandsbolaget brand. This topic is a priority for us, and our new customers and employees will play a vital role in our business going forward," Lars-Åke Norling, CEO of Telenor Sweden, said in a statement.
Before the acquisition Bredbandsbolaget was already among the largest providers – in terms of customer numbers – of fixed broadband in the consumer market in Sweden. According to the most recent figures from the Swedish telecoms regulator, Telenor held a 17.8 percent share of the broadband market last year. By December 2012, there were 3.1 million fixed broadband subscriptions in Sweden, around 550,000 of which were via Telenor.
The acquisition is subject to approval from the Swedish Competition Authority.