TeliaSonera holds on to Yoigo

Swedish operator group TeliaSonera will retain its Spanish subsidiary Yoigo as it has not received a suitable offer for the business from prospective buyers, the firm has said.

According to the group, Yoigo had 3.7 million subscriptions at year-end 2012, six years since its inception. During 2012, the subsidiary’s net sales grew 12.5 per cent to SEK8.38bn ($1.29bn), while EBITDA increased 49.3 per cent to SEK627m.

However, according to Informa’s WCIS, the subsidiary’s ARPU has been in decline since September 2011, when it stood at $28.60, falling to just $20.60 in December 2012.

“Yoigo has great potential for further development, but as its market strategy does not quite match our other operations, we have been prepared to divest it if we were offered a price which fully reflects its future potential,” said TeliaSonera CEO Per-Arne Blomquist.

“As this requirement has not been met, we have discontinued the sales process and look forward to continue developing the company.”

The Swedish-Finnish group has undergone a turbulent year so far, one that saw former CEO Lars Nyberg step down from his role following allegations of corruption involving operations in Uzbekistan. In its state-ordered assessment, law firm Mannheimer Swartling found that TeliaSonera had not been involved in bribery or money laundering. However, it criticised the operator for failing to conduct a sufficiently in depth analysis into the identity of the local partner in Uzbekistan.