Kazakhtelecom to acquire 49% stake of Tele2 AB in joint venture Khan Tengri Holding B.V.

23.05.19 15:27
/KASE, May 23, 2019/ – Kazakhtelecom (Nur-Sultan), whose securities are officially listed on Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE), has provided KASE with the following press release of May 23, 2019: quote Today, Kazakhtelecom and Tele2 AB have signed an agreement to acquire a 49% stake in Swedish mobile operator in the joint venture Khan Tengri Holding B.V. The transaction is expected to be completed at the end of June. Today, Kazakhtelecom and Tele2 AB have signed an agreement to acquire a 49% stake in the Swedish mobile operator in the joint venture Khan Tengri Holding B.V. Recall that at the end of February 2016, the parties agreed to establish a joint venture in the mobile segment based on the business of ALTEL JSC and Mobile Telecom-Service LLP, in which Kazakhtelecom JSC share was 51% of the share capital (49.48% voting shares). Tele 2 realized the put option stipulated by the shareholders agreement on the redemption of Kazakhtelecom JSC owned by Tele2 Sverige AB 49% of the shares of Khan Tengri Holding B.V. Kazakhtelecom JSC Chairman of the Board Kuanyshbek Yessekeyev, believes that, taking into account company's experience in the mobile segment development and infrastructure projects implementation, the acquisition of Tele2's stake in Khan Tengri Holding BV, along with the purchase of 75% of Kcell shares, will have a positive impact on the telecommunications industry as a result of number of synergies implementation in the integration and sharing of three operators technical capabilities. "Due to business diversification, increasing the company's scale and profitability, this deal will increase Kazakhtelecom's investment attractiveness" said Kuanyshbek Yessekeyev. Kazakhtelecom also stated that the company, as the main shareholder of both mobile operators, is ready to facilitate the joint launch of 5G in Kazakhstan. Operator's cooperation will permit to create a high-tech platform that allows to provide high-quality fixed and mobile services. "We expect an increase in coverage, an improvement in the quality of cellular services and massive introduction of innovative digital technologies available to the public," Kazakhtelecom emphasized. Tele2 commented on the company's exit from the Kazakhstani market: "Tele2 has built a successful business in Kazakhstan and has deployed a network for high-quality voice and mobile data transmission. The joint venture managed to significantly increase its customer base and market share, increase profitability, ensure high quality of communication and a significant increase in mobile data consumption per customer, which doubled since the establishment of the joint venture," the company said in a press release citing President and CEO of Tele2 Anders Nilsson. It should be noted that in the first quarter of this year, the number of subscribers of the joint venture significantly exceeded 7 million people. PR service Kazakhtelecom unquote Details are available on – http://www.kase.kz/files/emitters/KZTK/kztk_reliz_230519_1.pdf [2019-05-23]