Telia sells part of tower business in Norway and Finland

Sweden’s biggest pension fund Alecta and a Brookfield infrastructure fund are buying a 49% stake in Telia Company’s tower business in Finland and Norway for €722m.

Earlier this year, Telia said it was planning to partner with “external parties to further develop its digital infrastructure assets and crystalise value”.

Telia has the largest tower infrastructure footprint in the Nordics and the Baltics, with approximately 25,000 towers and rooftop sites. In Finland and Norway, Telia’s tower business is comprised of approximately 4,700 towers.

In an update, Telia said it has agreed to sell part of its tower business Finland and Norway to Brookfield’s core infrastructure fund and the Swedish occupational pension fund for €722m, adding that the proceeds will be “retained for deleveraging”.

Allison Kirkby, the CEO and president of Telia Company, said: “We are delighted to enter into a strategic partnership with Brookfield and Alecta, to both crystallise immediate value, and more importantly help Telia better develop its infrastructure base.

“Both Telia and Brookfield/Alecta have a long-term industrial view on the role of tower infrastructure as a foundation for continued digitalisation of the region.” MarketWatch