Due south: Tele2 completes takeover of former E.ON operations

Swedish telco Tele2 has acquired the outstanding 24.9% of shares in Tele2 Syd (formerly E.ON Bredband Sverige) that it did not previously own, for around SEK135 million (USD19.5 million). The company acquired 75.1% of the regional broadband operator on 31 August 2006 for SEK409 million plus assumed net debt of SEK90 million. Tele2 Syd specialises in providing broadband solutions for SMEs, large companies and the public sector, mainly in southern Sweden. Tele2 said at the time of the original deal that it expects to achieve cost savings via operational synergies of SEK25 million per year from the acquisition, beginning from August 2007. Integration costs are expected to be in the region of SEK35 million, spread over two years. Tele2 offers broadband services in Sweden over ADSL, cable and wireless networks, and had around 145,000 retail broadband subscribers at the end of March 2007, according to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms database.