The Swedish telecommunications group Tele2 has announced its intention to sell its Austrian branch to Telekom Austria for 65 million Swedish kronor (7.08 million euros).
Corresponding contracts were signed at the end of last week, and the Austrian competition authority will soon express its opinion on the transaction. Despite this, the two companies expect it to be finalized later this year. The Austrian branch of Tele2 has 131,000 customers. Tele2’s CEO Lars-Johan Jarnheimer explained that the group is withdrawing from the Austrian market because fierce competition in the mobile telecommunications sector leaves little room for profitable and long-term operations of a virtual mobile operator.
Thus, in the first half of the year, Tele2 recorded a loss of approximately 30 million kronor (3.27 million euros) in the mobile telecommunications sector, which is double the amount from 2006. However, the Swedish company is not giving up on its operations in the fixed-line and Internet sectors and intends to expand them in the coming years, emphasized its spokesperson Joerg Wollmann. With one million customers, Tele2 gained the status of the largest alternative fixed-line operator in Austria two years ago thanks to the acquisition of UTA. The leading position belongs to Telekom Austria. The focus of the Swedish company’s business in the Austrian market will henceforth be on broadband Internet access services, and Tele2 aims to double its customer base by the end of the year compared to 2006, reaching 200,000. By the end of August, there were already 170,000, Wollmann emphasized. (H)
