Europe Sweden : Telenor has paid EUR 994 million to Vodafone, thereby completing the acquisition of the mobile operator Vodafone Sweden. Including debt, the purchase price is EUR 1,035 million.

Inset - Johan Lindgren will from today enter as CEO of the company.

With the completion of the acquisition, Telenor's Scandinavian mobile customer base increases by 37 per cent, reaching a total of 5.6 million subscribers. The transaction secures Telenor a strong position in the Swedish mobile market.

Vodafone Sweden is the third largest mobile operator in Sweden with 1.5 million subscribers and a market share of 16 per cent (22 per cent measured in revenues). The company is the second largest player in the Swedish business market with a 30 per cent market share in the corporate segment.

Johan Lindgren will from today enter as CEO of the company. Johan Lindgren was previously CFO and Deputy CEO of Bredbandsbolaget, a company that was acquired by Telenor in May 2005.

"We are very pleased that Johan Lindgren accepted the position as CEO of Vodafone Sweden. He has extensive experience from executive work, and possesses all the necessary commercial qualities required to take both the company and Telenor's position in the Swedish market further," said Morten Karlsen Sørby, Executive Vice President and Head of Telenor Nordic operations.

"I approach this task with a considerable amount of humility. Vodafone Sweden is an operation with a solid position and many excellent services. At the same time we are seeing that the competition is getting tougher, and the company has started an important restructuring process which will also involve cost-reductions," says Johan Lindgren.

"Over the next few months I will spend much time getting to know the organisation, and develop the strategy for the company," continues Johan Lindgren. "We will also start working on the development of a joint product and service offering, in partnership with Telenor's other operations in Sweden. The positive feedback that Telenor has received from its joint sales campaigns in Denmark, comprising mobile, broadband and TV services, is something that we will look into in more detail," ends Lindgren.