Telia to re-assess position in Latvia after cooperation with govt stalls

News General Latvia 23 SEP 2019
Telia to re-assess position in Latvia after cooperation with govt stalls

The government of Latvia has informed Telia Company that it no longer intends to implement the memorandum of understanding on improving cooperation as shareholders in the mobile operator LMT and the fixed operator Tet. Telia Company said it will now reconsider its approach to investments in Latvia.

The memorandum, signed in 2018, outlined the joint aims of Telia Company and the Latvian state regarding the two companies. It also laid out steps to develop a joint long-term strategy, focused on the implementation of good corporate governance practices, improvement of decision-making and clearer strategic supervision of the companies' activities. This work has now been suspended.

Telia Company said that it will consider the situation and assess options for implementation of its strategy in the Latvian market.

Telia Company is the biggest private shareholder in LMT, with approximately 60 percent direct and indirect stake in the company. It holds a 49 percent direct stake in the fixed operator Tet. In 2017, the Latvian government rejected the company's plan to merge the two companies. 

Telia earlier merged its fixed and mobile operators in Lithuania and Estonia. The difference between these states and Latvia are that the Latvian state owns stakes in both the fixed operator Tet and the mobile operator LMT, and the Lithuanian and Estonian operators did not have state shareholders.

Categories:

General

Companies:

LMT,  Telia,  Tet

Countries:

Latvia

Tags:

Shareholders & subsidiaries, Cooperations & alliances, Government policy, M&A buyouts & divestments

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