Finnish Parliament has granted authorisation to renounce completely its holding in Sonera Corporation. Parliament passed the resolution on 21 June 2000.
The former authorisation gave Government a possibility to reduce the State’s holding to 34%. Last time Sonera’s shares were sold in a tender offering in March 2000 and as a result reduced the State’s holding to 54.5% of the company. Furthermore, Sonera used part of its share issue authorisation for an acquisition in April which dropped the present State holding to 53.3%.
The aim of the resolution is to ensure flexibility of the State’s ownership policy in the rapidly changing and consolidating telecommunications market.
Sonera welcomes the resolution as a logical continuation of the privatisation process that started in 1998. Sonera has stated that it is looking into strategic partnerships in its focus areas, mobile telecommunications and services. According to Sonera’s CEO, Aulis Salin, the company has started to examine the alternatives.
In regard to the sales authorisation Sonera has recently been a target for various market speculation. According to market rumours Sonera has been about to merge with such international operators as Dutch KPN Mobile, Francé Telecom, Orange and Vodafone Airtouch. This all has turned out to be pure speculation but it has become more probable that some kind of corporate arrangements lie ahead in the future as even the Minister responsible for telecommunications, Olli-Pekka Heinonen, has stated that Sonera must have an active role in the present market situation.
In the privatisation process of Sonera the Finnish government will now face a difficult decision, because the highest offer may not be the best for the future of the Finnish telecommunication sector. In the best scenario Sonera would get an international and competitive partner, which would support the international development and independence of the company. The CEO Salin has seen a great opportunity here for Sonera to become a global player through alliances. According to Salin an ideal partner would be a large telecommunication company with small cellular section, which would enable benefiting from Sonera’s know-how in the field of wireless communication services.
For further information, please contact Pekka Lehtinen.
This article contains general information on the subject matter and shall not be relied upon for a specific case. Specialist advice should be sought with respect to any specific circumstances.
