12 August 2002 Stockholm-based telecoms group Telia AB says that it now expects the presentation of the prospectus for the takeover of Finnish counterpart Sonera Corp to its shareholders to be delayed from August to September pending approval from US regulators. This is due to the US Securities and Exchange Commission taking longer than expected to review the offering documents for the deal.
Telia and Sonera are the largest operators in their respective countries, and the merger is the first between former national incumbent carriers in Europe. The Swedish government holds a 70% stake in Telia, while the Finnish government holds 53% of Sonera. Telia has offered 1.5144 shares for each share of Sonera.
The new company would be the largest operator in the Nordic region, with around 8 million mobile-phone customers and 7.6 million fixed-line customers in the Nordic and Baltic region.
