OSLO, Norway—Norway’s Telenor Mobile signed a final agreement to acquire 100 percent of Hungarian mobile-phone operator Pannon GSM for about US$905 million. Finland’s Sonera and the Netherlands’ KPN, two debt-laden companies, are selling their stakes, along with Denmark’s Tele Danmark Communications (TDC).
The agreement was first announced in late July.
Before the transaction, Telenor held 25.78 percent of Pannon GSM, which is the second-largest wireless operator in Hungary. KPN held 26.79 percent, Sonera held 23 percent and TDC Group owned 6.6 percent.
The agreement is subject to regulatory approval, and is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of this year or the first quarter of 2002.
As of the end of September, Pannon GSM had 1.6 million subscribers and a market share of about 45 percent, Telenor said.
