The Scandinavian telco TeliaSonera has been linked with a possible takeover bid for Danish mobile operator Hi3G Access Denmark which trades under the brand name ‘3’. When asked last week if his firm would be interested in acquiring 3 Denmark if it were to come up for sale, TeliaSonera’s CEO Lars Nyberg responded: ‘I always buy if it is the right price.’ According to a Reuters report, however, the price may well be a sticking point; 3’s owners, Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa and Swedish firm Investor, are thought to have invested around DKK8 billion (USD1.2 billion) in the Danish operation over the years and will be likely to want to recoup that, but analysts are suggesting that a fairer valuation would be around half that sum.
There were around 7.6 million mobile customers in Denmark at end-2011, according to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database. TeliaSonera’s local subsidiary is the third largest cellular operator in the country behind TDC and Telenor, while 3 Denmark is in fourth position in terms of subscribers.