Swedish investor Kinnevik announced plans to dispose of its stake in the Latin America operator Millicom by distributing the shares to existing Kinnevik shareholders. This follows a failed attempt to sell part of the Millicom shares in June, abandoned due to poor market conditions.
Kinnevik owns a 37.2 percent stake in Millicom, which is active in Latin America and Africa offering mobile and cable services. The company will hold an extraordinary shareholders meeting to secure approval for the share distribution and aims to complete the process by the end of 2019.
Kinnevik shareholders will receive Swedish depository receipts in Millicom, which is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm. The entire distribution is worth around SEK 19 billion, equal to SEK 69 per Kinnevik share based on Millicom's latest share price.
The disposal is part of a shift in investment strategy at Kinnevik, to focus more on start-ups. Its other main telecom investment, Tele2, has also completed a series of divestments to refocus on the Swedish market. Kinnevik said it decided to change its shareholder remuneration policy and stop paying ordinary cash dividends, in favor of paying out excess capital generated by its investment activities in the form of extraordinary dividends.
