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Tele2 asks Latvian government to invite more bids for cost reduction (Latvia)

  • October 14th, 2008
  • 5:49 am

Tele2 has stated that the Latvian government could save more than USD7.73 million by inviting bids from mobile operators on a more regular basis. According to a recent data, Tele2 helds 46.9% of the mobile market at the end of June 2008, is understood to have presented its figures to the government, asserting that government departments could more proactively review contracts and invite new bids to increase competition. Currently, the majority of ministerial departments favours Tele2 rival Latvijas Mobilais Telefons’ (LMT’s) services. LMT answered Tele2 claims by stating that it has always supported competition and participated in bidding organised by state run entities.

TeliaSonera makes bid for all of Lattelecom (Latvia)

  • February 7th, 2008
  • 2:01 pm

TeliaSonera has made a bid of LVL 500 million to acquire all of Latvia’s Lattelecom, challenging an offer from private equity group Blackstone. An earlier deal for TeliaSonera to acquire the mobile activities and Blackstone to take the rest of the company fell through after the Latvian government rejected Blackstone’s bid. TeliaSonera and Blackstone each submitted new proposals on 6 February at a three-way meeting with Ivars Godmanis, the Latvian prime minister, the Financial Times reports from a press briefing on the meeting. The government is due to respond by the end of the month. TeliaSonera, which owns 49 percent of both Lattelecom and LMT, offered to buy the remaining shares in both groups for LVL 500 million, but the government has earlier rejected TeliaSonera owning both companies as that would give it three-quarters of the telephone market. Blackstone repeated its offer to buy TeliaSonera’s 49 percent stake in Lattelecom for LVL 142 million but said it was now prepared to wait to purchase the state’s 51 percent stake, running Lattelecom as a joint venture with the government for up to three years.

   

Lattelecom privatisation likely to be delayed (Latvia)

  • November 6th, 2007
  • 9:34 am

Thomson Financial is reporting that the Latvian government is unlikely to announce its final decision on the sale of the state’s stakes in fixed line incumbent Lattelecom and its wireless sister company Latvijas Mobilais Telefons (LMT), as originally planned for tomorrow. Citing local newspaper Diena, Thomson writes that the decision on whether to accept a proposal made by Lattelecom CEO Nils Muiznieks that would see US investment fund Blackstone Group become the majority owner of the company, while the government and Lattelecom employees would control less than 8% in the company, has been delayed by numerous changes to the Latvian government. According to an agreement reached earlier this year, management and employees of Lattelecom will acquire 100% of the company using finance from the private equity group. At present TeliaSonera holds 49% of Lattelecom, with the Latvian state controlling the remainder. In exchange for its Lattelecom shares TeliaSonera will acquire the outstanding equity on LMT.

   

 

Bite bumps 3G speeds to 7.2Mbps (Latvia)(Lithuania)

  • October 3rd, 2007
  • 1:33 pm

Bite Latvia has announced the upgrade of its 3G network to HSDPA. The faster 3.5G network is currently available in seven cities across the Baltic State, giving it population coverage of 50%, and supports download speeds of up to 7.2Mbps. Bite’s sister company in neighbouring Lithuania has also been upgraded.

   

 

Blackstone to purchase 51% of Lattelecom (Latvia)

  • September 13th, 2007
  • 1:05 pm

Private equity group Blackstone will invest LVL90 million (USD178 million) to take a 51% stake in Lattelecom, the Latvian telecoms group being privatised via a LVL290 million management buy-out. Lattelecom’s management announced yesterday that they had chosen Blackstone and a syndicate of four banks to finance the buy-out from the Latvian government and TeliaSonera. Nils Melngailis, Lattelecom’s chief executive, said more than ten private equity funds and 20 banks had offered to finance the transaction, but that fixing terms had been more difficult than he had foreseen, given the global market turbulence and increased concerns over the overheating Latvian economy. ‘We couldn’t have picked a worse time to look for financing,’ he admitted.

Lattelecom eventually chose Unicredit, Nordea Bank, Parex Bank and DnB Nor to raise LVL200 million in euro and lat denominated debt. The management will also invest LLV10 million to cover transaction expenses and will hold 49% of the company after the buy-out, which should be completed in November.

As part of the transaction TeliaSonera has agreed to take full ownership of cellco LMT. The Swedish company already directly owns 49% of LMT and has management control. In a deal that values LMT at LVL668 million, TeliaSonera will give the state about LVL130 million plus its stake in Lattelecom, and will receive Lattelecom’s 23% stake in LMT and the 28% shareholding owned by the government.

   
 

Lattelecom and Golden Telecom announce new IP transit channel

  • July 24th, 2007
  • 3:21 pm

Lattelecom and Golden Telecom have jointly launched a new high speed internet channel which will boost traffic speeds to up to 1Gbps between Latvia and Russia. Traffic was previously routed indirectly through London and Frankfurt. The new channel is transmitted through Stockholm, which enables data to reach Moscow from Riga in 36 milliseconds, more than twice as fast as before. The first beneficiaries of the high speed launch are Lattelecom’s broadband clients.

   

 

Lattelecom picks Alcatel-Lucent’s microwave platform

  • July 24th, 2007
  • 2:18 pm

Alcatel-Lucent has signed a three-year framework agreement with Lattelecom, the Latvian operator owned by by TeliaSonera and the Latvian State. Lattelecom will extend its broadband DSL services to Latvia’s rural areas using Alcatel-Lucent’s microwave equipment. This will enable the operator to expand its subscriber base by offering advanced broadband services to people in previously un-served, remote areas. Under the agreement, Alcatel-Lucent will supply its 9500 Microwave Cross Connect (MXC) microwave service to aggregate and transport DSL broadband network traffic, and also provide installation and commissioning services. With a flexible architecture ready to transport IP and TDM services, the Alcatel-Lucent 9500 MXC platform provides a smooth migration from legacy networks.

   

EQO Communications launches mobile VoIP service

  • May 24th, 2007
  • 11:17 am

Global mobile internet service provider EQO Communications has launched EQO Mobile, a service that lets users make international long distance calls and exchange IM and SMSs on their mobile phones at local calling and messaging rates. EQO Mobile is powered by a software application that makes calling as easy as using as a standard phone address book. The application is free to download and installs itself automatically. EQO Mobile allows users to leverage their existing contact lists to build a network of EQO contacts and to easily invite these contacts to also use EQO. Currently EQO supports hundreds of mainstream mobile handsets and will initially be available in the following 20 countries: Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Israel, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and the United States.

   

TDC to divest Bitë

  • January 22nd, 2007
  • 1:47 pm

Telegeography writes…Bitë Group, which operates cellular networks in the Baltic countries of Latvia and Lithuania, is to be sold by its parent, Danish incumbent TDC. Central and Eastern European private equity fund Mid Europa Partners, is to buy 100% of the subsidiary for a reported cash consideration of EUR450 million (USD583 million). Bitë Group consists of Lithuanian cellco Bitë GSM and its wholly owned subsidiary Bitë Latvia. Bitë GSM, which launched services in 1995, claimed just under a third of the market at the end of September 2006 with 1,977,000 subscribers. Bitë Latvia launched a GSM/GPRS network in September 2005 and started upgrading it with EDGE technology the following month. According to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms database, it was the country’s smallest cellco at the end of 3Q 2006, with an estimated 135,000 subscribers.