Acquisition of DNA Plc

Telenor Group

Posted on

9 Apr

2019

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Fast facts

Date of announcement:

9 April 2019

Status:

Completed

Cross-border:

Yes

Deal value:

EUR 3.1 billion

Practice-specific reference:

Competition & Public Procurement – Advising Telenor Group on the European Commission merger control filing and other regulatory filings regarding the acquisition of DNA Plc

We advised Telenor on its acquisition of a majority stake in DNA Plc, the Finnish telecom operator, and subsequent mandatory tender offer for all remaining shares in DNA.

Telenor Group (“Telenor”) has on 9 April 2019 entered into agreements to acquire 54 % of all shares in DNA Plc (“DNA”). Telenor has entered into separate agreements with the two largest shareholders of DNA, Finda Telecoms Oy and PHP Holding Oy, which hold 28.26 % and 25.78 % of all shares in DNA, respectively.

Following fulfilment of certain conditions, including the approval of the transaction by the general meetings of the relevant seller entities and the receipt of required regulatory approvals, Telenor acquired 54 % of all shares in DNA on 21 August 2019 and announced a mandatory public tender offer for the remaining outstanding shares in DNA. Ultimately Telenor acquired more than 97% of all shares through the block trades and the tender offer. Telenor has commenced a squeeze-out of the remaining minority shareholders and DNA was delisted in February 2020.

DNA, based in Helsinki, is an integrated fixed and mobile telecom operator with a solid market position in the fastest growing mobile market in Europe. The company is the third largest mobile operator in Finland, with 2.9 million subscribers and 28% market share. In 2018, DNA reported revenues of EUR 912 million and EBITDA of EUR 285 million.

Telenor is a global telecom operator, with 174 million customers and strong positions in nine markets across Scandinavia and Asia, leveraging on more than 160 years of proud history. Telenor has its roots in Norway, where the company has a strong market position, by running the world’s fastest mobile network and in 2018 launching Scandinavia’s very first 5G pilot and NB-IoT network. Telenor is committed to responsible business conduct, driven by its purpose to connect its customer to what matters most and by the ambition of empowering societies. In 2018, Telenor reported revenues of NOK 110 billion and EBITDA of NOK 42 billion. Telenor is stock-listed at the Oslo Stock Exchange and has currently a market capitalization of around NOK 260 billion (EUR 26 billion).

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