TeliaSonera sells North Sea Communications stake to HitecVision

Telia Norge AS, a company owned by TeliaSonera, has agreed to sell its shares in North Sea Communications AS (NSC) to HitecVision for approximately SEK 170 million. NSC operates an undersea fiber-optic cable system between Norway and the UK that offers high-speed, low-latency communications to the offshore oil and gas industry in the southern part of the North Sea.

HitecVision is a private equity firm focused on the oil and gas industry.

NSC was established in 1998 as a joint venture between TeliaSonera and Enitel. Since 2001, TeliaSonera has been the sole owner of the company. The Scandinavian and Baltic carrier says the sale is part of a refocus on its core telecommunications operations.

The transaction is subject to approval from relevant competition authorities, and is expected to be closed in August.

TeliaSonera expects a capital gain of approximately SEK 90 million, which will be reported as a non-recurring item.