Telia Company

Telia Company AB (formerly TeliaSonera) is an international telecommunications group of the Baltic and Scandinavian countries.

History

2024: Dismissal of 3,000 employees

On September 4, 2024, the largest telecommunications company in Scandinavia Telia announced a reorganization, during which the number of personnel will decrease by about 15%. This measure is aimed at reducing annual spending by 2.6 billion Swedish crowns ($253 million at the exchange rate as of this date).

Telia, which provides telecommunications services and operates TV channels in the Nordic and Baltic countries, is facing, among other challenges, declining advertising sales, it said. This is due to the formed macroeconomic situation, due to which many customers cut marketing costs.

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Bloomberg

The upcoming layoffs, as noted by Reuters, were announced by Telia CEO Patrick Hofbauer. As of mid-2024, the company employs about 18 thousand employees and 1370 consultants. In total, approximately 3,000 jobs will be abolished. Of these, about 1,400 will be in Sweden, while the rest will be distributed among other regions.

This is a complex decision, but it is necessary to ensure Telia's long-term success. We need to simplify the organizational structure in order to increase the speed of decision-making, including in matters of commercial implementation. Therefore, we are changing the operating model, - said Hofbauer.

In 2021, Telia initiated a multi-year restructuring plan focused on cutting costs by reducing headcount annually, selling assets and streamlining operations to drive growth. The company plans to complete the announced layoffs by December 1, 2024. Reduced employees will receive monetary compensation and other due payments. The company does not report anything about the amount of costs associated with the reorganization.^[1]

2018

Telia sells Coscom operator to Uzbek government for $215 million

At the end of 2018, Telia sold the Uzbek Coscom (Ucell trademark) to local authorities represented by the State Committee for Privatization Support and Competition Development. The transaction amount amounted to $215 million.

Sale of Kcell operator to Kazakhtelecom

On December 12, 2018, it became known that To Astana JSC "" signed an agreement with Kazakhtelecom Telia Company and Fintur Holdings BV on the acquisition of 75% of the voting shares of JSC "Kcell" (). Kcell

Participants of the transaction - Kazakhtelecom JSC, Telia Company and Fintur Holdings BV signed an agreement on the acquisition by Kazakhtelecom of a total 75 percent stake in the Kazakh telecommunications operator Kcell JSC. As of December 2018, as part of the transaction, Kazakhtelecom acquires a 24% stake in Kcell from Telia Company and a 51% stake in Fintur Holdings BV (a joint venture of Telia Company telecommunications companies (58.55%) and Turkcell (41.45%), respectively.

In preparation for the transaction, Kazakhtelecom conducted an investment analysis, assessment and comprehensive verification of the results of Kcell's financial and economic activities in accordance with international standards for transactions of this kind. The decision to acquire a 75% stake in Kcell was made by the Board of Directors of Kazakhtelecom JSC and the Investment and Strategic Committee of Samruk- Қazyna JSC.

According to Johan Dennelind, President and CEO of Telia, this deal is another important step to exit the Eurasian market and focus on the Northern and Baltic regions as part of the company's strategy. This is the sixth deal in the region since 2015.

2016: Name change to Telia Company

On April 18, 2018, TeliaSonera announced that it had changed its name to Telia Company AB.^[2]

2015: TeliaSonera says goodbye to CIS after corruption scandal

Swedish-Finnish TeliaSonera decided to leave the macro-region of Eurasia, which includes mainly the CIS countries. The company's board of directors considered that the company should focus on the home market of Sweden and other European countries^[3] to the ^[4].

TeliaSonera wants to get rid of seven cellular operators: five from countries in the CIS, as well as operators from Georgia and Nepal. Operators owned by TeliaSonera in Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Nepal and Kazakhstan are the market leaders, in Moldova, Uzbekistan and Georgia they occupy the second positions in terms of the number of subscribers.

The timing of when the Scandinavian company will sell them has not yet been determined. Operators from the Eurasia macro-region earned a total of 20.5 billion Swedish crowns ($2.5 billion) in 2014 - about 20% of the group's total revenue. At the end of the year, they served 45 million subscribers - 60% of the group's total number of subscribers.

Earlier, the story of TeliaSonera entering the Uzbek market was the subject of an anti-corruption investigation in Sweden. It turned out that simultaneously with the purchase of the local operator Coscom, the Scandinavian company paid a total of $250 million to fashion designer Gayane Avakyan, who was part of the close circle of Gulnara Karimova, the daughter of Uzbek President Islam Karimov.

2014: Telenor and TeliaSonera combine operating units in Denmark

On December 3, 2014, Telenor and TeliaSonera entered into an agreement to merge the operating units in Denmark and create a new joint venture. Each of the companies will own a 50% stake. This will create a strong mobile operator that will increase investment in networks in the interests of our customers.

The new company will have a combined subscriber base of approximately 3.5 million people. The deal will create a sustainable operator with a total mobile market share of 40%, revenues of more than 9 billion Danish crowns and significant potential formed by synergy.

The need for consolidation in the Danish telecommunications market has been clear for some time as operators have faced prolonged pressure on the companies' revenue and returns. This limited opportunities for investment and innovation. Telenor and TeliaSonera have been cooperating since 2012, jointly owning a mobile network in Denmark. Now the parties have come to an agreement that the creation of an independent and fully functional joint venture is a strategically priority path to achieve synergy and create additional value.

The aim of the merger between the two operating divisions is to achieve annual efficiency gains of over DKK 800 million, the maximum effect of which should be by 2019. The greatest effect of the synergy will be the following areas: distribution, sales and marketing, call centers, general and administrative expenses, networks and IT. Integration costs are expected to be in the range of DKK 0.8 billion between 2015 and 2017.

A larger distribution network will be created, network connectivity and performance will be improved. In addition, as a result of the merger, the joint venture will be in a more favorable position in order to invest in attractive and easy-to-use services. Combining the two companies' fixed networks and services will create an even more efficient broadband service provider for Danish consumers and companies.

competition in Denmark and we are facing long-term pressure on revenue and return growth, making consolidation of the two divisions inevitable. By combining the assets and customer bases of Telenor and TeliaSonera in Denmark, the joint venture will become a strong operator. We will be able to offer our customers a high-quality network with excellent connectivity and better customer service in Denmark, "says Telenor Executive Vice President of Europe Operations Schell Morten Johnsen

"We are taking the necessary and natural step by creating a joint venture with Telenor based on an existing network partnership. By joining forces, we will be able to attract investment in Denmark in the interests of not only our customers, but Danish society as a whole, "says Robert Andersson, Executive Vice President and Head of TeliaSonera in Europe

Management structure

The Board of the new joint venture will equally include representatives of Telenor and TeliaSonera: only seven people, three on each side, and the Chairman of the Board, who is elected unanimously by the representatives of the parties.

The search for a candidate for the position of CEO of the joint venture is already underway, both companies are confident that they will soon be able to choose a suitable candidate for this position.

Cost

Telenor and TeliaSonera have agreed that their businesses and related operations have equal value, hence the agreement is based on equal ownership. The difference in net debt and changes in working capital from the moment of signing the agreement until its termination will have a monetary expression. Terms

Telenor and TeliaSonera discussed the timing of the deal. This transaction requires the approval of the European Commission. The parties expect the consent of the European Union and intend to complete the deal within 2015. Operations take place separately and operate independently of each other until the transaction is completed.

2013: Net profit down 24.7%

Net profit of TeliaSonera AB, which owns a stake in the Russian mobile operator MegaFon"," decreased by 24.7% in 2013 to 14.97 billion Swedish crowns (2.33 billion dollars). Net income per common share decreased to 3.46 kronor (0.54) dollar versus 4.59 kronor ($0.71) for 2012. The telecom giant's revenue fell 3% to 101.7 billion kronor ($15.86 billion).

2010

As of March 2010, 37% of the shares of the companies are owned by the Swedish government, 13.2% by the Finnish government, the rest is distributed between companies and private investors around the world.

TeliaSonera is the largest operator of the Baltic and Scandinavian countries in the fixed, mobile and broadband Internet segments. This is the 10th largest mobile company in the world, given its own subscriber base and the base of those operators in which TeliaSonera has shares (Turkcell, Yoigo, Megafon, Netcom and others).

TeliaSonera became the first operator in the world to launch a fourth generation (4G) network based on LTE technology into commercial operation. Starting December 14, 2009, 4G communication is available to subscribers of the operator in Stockholm and Oslo, in the first quarter of 2010 the pilot segment of the 4G network will also be launched in Finland.

2007

For 2007, TeliaSonera is a telecom company and mobile operator in Sweden and Finland, which also has assets in the markets of more than 20 countries in Northern, Eastern Europe, Asia, as well as in Spain. The number of subscribers of the company worldwide is more than 106 million people.

2002

TeliaSonera was founded by the merger of Swedish and Finnish operators Telia and Sonera in 2002. The deal followed almost immediately on the heels of a failed deal to merge Telia with Norwegian telecoms company Telenor, which became the combined company's main competitor in the Scandinavian countries.

Before privatisation, Telia was Sweden's main telephone monopoly. Separate Telia and Sonera brands continue to exist in the Swedish and Finnish telecommunications markets, respectively.

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