DNA, which is owned by a group of Finnish regional phone carriers led by Finda Oy, started to weigh up the move earlier this year as part of a wider strategic assessment of its business and officially announced it was going to publicly list on October 26. The news comes three years after shareholders voted against going public and DNA pulled the plug on an IPO, at a time the company was valued at around $1.4 billion.
Today, DNA has listed its shares - the preliminary price range was set between €9.85 to €11.15 per share - on the Helsinki Stock Exchange to widen its investor base and support further development of its 4G mobile, fixed broadband, cable TV and B2B networks. Certain existing shareholders are offering 35.95 million shares for sale in the company. Of the sale shares, up to 19,110,655 shares and 13,578,345 shares are being offered for sale by Finda Oy and PHP Holding Oy respectively. €50 million-worth of new shares will also be issued.
“I am very pleased with the response we have received from investors after we announced our intention to float our shares on the Helsinki Stock Exchange. The successful implementation of our strategy and the development opportunities going forward have attracted considerable interest,” said Jukka Leinonen, CEO of DNA.
“Committed shareholders and motivated personnel have built DNA into a strong Finnish telecommunications service provider of DNA. We have a solid base to further develop our business and create value for our new shareholders. DNA is ready to move to a new phase and continue its operations as a publicly listed company.”
DNA, which has its own nationwide mobile communication network and the largest hybrid-fibre coaxial network, has stated that its “strategic focus is achieving the most satisfied customers in the market”. It presently has over 3.8 million subscription customers in total.
“The company aims to leverage its competitive mobile infrastructure that will allow it to continue providing the fastest and the highest quality services in the market and consequently translate into high customer satisfaction and continued sales growth,” a company statement disclosed.
“DNA also intends to capitalise on significant upselling and cross-selling opportunities in the consumer segment by leveraging its strong market positions and converged service offering, while the company’s multi-platform TV strategy allows a high quality TV and video offering across all devices.”
Subscription periods for public and personnel offerings end on November 25 and the institutional offering ends on November 29. DNA is set to list its shares on the Helsinki bourse on December 2.
