The Norwegian Competition Authority approves Telia Company’s acquisition of GET and TDC Norway.

“I am pleased that the Norwegian Competition Authority sees the advantages with this transaction. It will create a leading convergent operator for both consumers and enterprises in Norway which can compete in the market with a lot of attractive and new products and services. This transaction is beneficial for the Norwegian customers and society. I warmly welcome GET’s and TDC Norway’s employees to Telia Company,” says Johan Dennelind, President and CEO of Telia Company.

The purchase price of NOK 21 billion corresponds to an EV/EBITDA multiple of 12.1x based on 2017, and 9.0x including expected synergies. Telia Company expects to generate full run rate synergies of NOK 0.6 billion by 2021 from B2C and B2B cross-sales, churn reduction and other cost efficiencies. The acquisition is estimated to incur integration costs during 2019 and 2020 of approximately NOK 200 million annually.

The merged companies will have about 2.3 million mobile customers, and about 1.8 million people will use GET’s and TDC Norway’s broadband and TV services on a daily basis.

Telia Company will close the transaction on October 15, 2018. Get and TDC Norway will be consolidated into Telia Company’s reporting as of November 2018.