OSLO, Norway-The $47 billion merger between Norway’s Telenor and Sweden’s Telia has been canceled. Neither the governments nor the two state telecom companies will claim any compensation from the dissolution.
“I strongly regret that it was not possible to carry out a successful merger between Telenor and Telia. In the current situation, it was the right thing for the government to reverse the decision,” said Telenor/Telia’s Chief Executive Officer Tormod Hermansen in a statement.
“For everyone involved-the two countries’ governments and the two companies-the conditions for a businesslike successful merger have been mutual respect and equality between the two parties carrying out the merger. When one of the parties clearly demonstrates that these conditions are no longer decisive, then unfortunately the whole basis for the merger is gone.”
The two companies have bickered about management control, locations of business units and other issues since the merger was completed a few months ago. Full integration was to occur Jan. 1. The newly merged company also had planned to go public at some point.
The collapse could force both companies into mergers or partnerships with other telecommunications companies, particularly in light of the recent European telecommunications consolidation.
