By Kim McLaughlin - Dec 22, 2011 2:54 PM GMT+0700
TeliaSonera AB (TLSN), Sweden’s largest telephone company, will increase its stake in its unit in Kazakhstan for $1.52 billion before holding an initial public offering next year.
TeliaSonera agreed to buy a 49 percent stake in GSM Kazakhstan LLP, which sells phone services under the Kcell brand, from Kazakhtelecom, the Stockholm-based company said in a statement today. TeliaSonera plans to offer 25 percent of the shares in an initial public offering next year.
“This agreement is another step in the execution of our strategy of increasing ownership in core holdings,” TeliaSonera said in its statement. “Kcell is a clear market leader in Kazakhstan, the largest market in central Asia, and has shown remarkable growth over the years.”
Following the completion of both transactions, TeliaSonera’s effective ownership in Kcell will be 61.7 percent, it said today.
TeliaSonera has cut jobs and trimmed expenses in Sweden and Finland as subscribers shift from fixed-line subscriptions to smartphones, and focused on faster growing areas such as central Asia.
To contact the reporter on this story: Kim McLaughlin at kmclaughlin6@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Kenneth Wong at kwong11@bloomberg.net
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