OSLO, Norway-The Norwegian Minister of Transport and Communications Odd Einar Dorum
and the Swedish Minister of Industry Bjorn Rosengren have signed a letter of intent to merge Norway’s Telenor and
Sweden’s Telia into a new company.
The agreement is conditioned upon the new company being partially privatized
and listed on the stock exchange as soon as possible.
“Both companies had come to a point in where it was
natural to assess their future position in a market with steadily growing competition,” said Jan Stenberg, chairman
of the board of Telia. “Together we will have the size and experience necessary to further develop our position
from a leading role in the Nordic countries into a strong international player.”
Upon completion of the merger,
the new company will be registered in Sweden with headquarters in Stockholm. The Swedish government will own 60
percent of the new company, with the Norwegian government controlling the remaining 40 percent. Voting rights will
be equal.
“The new company will be a leading operator in the Northern Europe market, but will still be small
in comparison with the European and American companies we will be competing with in the future,” said
Tormod Hermansen, president and chief executive officer of Telenor.
The merger is subject to the approval of the
national assemblies of both countries as well as the European Commission.
