Polhem Infra, an investor owned by three Swedish national pension funds, paid 9,450 million Swedish kronor (€935 million) for Telia Carrier.
“We are truly excited to continue to provide our customers with an award-winning customer experience and business value as a standalone company”, said Staffan Göjeryd, CEO of Telia Carrier. “Our journey to expand our network and service portfolio, including build-outs in several key regions in the US, will accelerate under the ownership of Polhem Infra.”
The deal was originally announced in October 2020, when Mikael Lundin, CEO of Polhem Infra, said: “As an investor in Nordic infrastructure we will be a stable and long-term owner, committed to the company and its role in the transition towards sustainable and thriving societies globally. We will support the company with a thought-leading board of directors, and we will continue to invest in digital infrastructure, a core investment area for us.”
The sale follows a long period when the Telia group has gradually unwound itself from investments outside its home territory of Sweden and neighbouring countries. It sold its 47.1% stake in Turkcell Holding, the last of its global investments, a year ago.
Telia Carrier and Telia Company now enter a long-term partnership to continue to bring customers world-leading solutions. One question Telia Carrier has not yet answered is whether it will retain the name. Last October Göjeryd told Capacity in an interview: “In a year and a half from now I assume we will have a different name to build on the culture of Telia Carrier. We have a unique culture to start with.” Capacity is due to interview Göjeryd next week.
Allison Kirkby, president and CEO of Telia Company, said: “Telia Carrier operates the world’s number-one global internet backbone and together we are part of a global ecosystem. The benefits of our combined strengths enable Telia to continue to work with and develop our global customers. We look forward to the long-term cooperation to the benefit of both parties and, above all, the customers.”
