TeliaSonera sells Stofa for DKK1.1bn

TeliaSonera has announced the signing of an agreement to sell Danish subsidiary Stofa to private equity company Ratos for DKK1.1 billion (USD186 million) on a cash and debt free basis. Stofa, which was acquired by TeliaSonera group in 1995, owns a 2,100km fibre-optic cable backbone passing around 600,000 of Denmark’s 2.5 million homes, 350,000 of which are able to access Stofa’s broadband, TV and fixed telephony offerings. Stofa has operated as an independent subsidiary of the TeliaSonera Group, and during the last three years all services provided by Stofa have been marketed under the ‘Stofa’ brand; TeliaSonera also operates in the Danish telecoms market via wholly-owned subsidiary Telia Denmark. ‘In the 15 years that Stofa has been a part of the TeliaSonera Group we have seen strong progress in the company’s offerings and its market position, however its operations are not in line with our core strategy in Denmark,’ commented Per-Arne Blomquist, CFO of TeliaSonera, adding: ‘We are therefore very pleased to be able to hand over Stofa to an owner that can further develop the company.’ The agreement is subject to approval of the relevant competition authorities and the TeliaSonera Board.