OSLO, Norway-Telenor said it would exercise its option to sell its 10-percent stake in German operator Viag Interkom GmbH to British Telecommunications plc. The transaction, expected to be completed in January 2001, is worth more than $2.26 billion.
Telenor said the payment will mainly go toward down payment of loans. The $2.26 billion payment represents a payment of about $1.5 billion for Telenor’s stake and a payment of about $793 million for the repayment of loans advanced by Telenor to Viag. The disposal will give Telenor a pretax profit of more than $1.1 billion.
The deal will give British Telecom 100-percent control of Viag, in which it purchased another 45 percent in August.
