The Norwegian telecommunications provider said the acquisition would make Telenor Sweden the country’s second-largest fixed broadband provider and lift its consumer subscriber market share to about 27% from roughly 15%.
Telenor agreed to acquire a controlling stake in Swedish broadband provider Bahnhof in a deal valuing the company at 6.1 billion Swedish crowns ($629.7 million) on an enterprise value basis. The Norwegian telecom operator said it will buy the shares of Bahnhof founders Jon Karlung and Andreas Norman for 60 crowns per share, giving it access to holdings that directly and indirectly represent 50.8% of the shares and 86% of the votes, respectively. It also agreed to buy a 6.7% stake from Oresund Investment, Bahnhof’s second-largest shareholder, for 62 crowns per share. The acquisition, which remains subject to regulatory approvals, will require Telenor to launch a mandatory cash offer for all remaining Bahnhof shares once completed. Telenor said the deal would make Telenor Sweden the country’s second-largest fixed broadband provider, raise its consumer subscriber market share to around 27% from around 15%, and increase annual EBITDA progressively during the first four years of ownership by an average of about 0.7 billion crowns a year before annual integration costs of around 0.1 billion crowns over the same period. Bahnhof will continue to operate under its own brand after the acquisition.