French investor Xavier Niel and his Iliad telecoms group have agreed to buy a 19.8% stake in Swedish telecoms operator Tele2 for 13 billion crowns ($1.26 billion), investment company Kinnevik said in a statement today.
Niel and his companies will buy the stake from Kinnevik, the largest shareholder in Tele2, through Freya Investissement.
The transaction will take place in three steps with a first close of 2.9 billion crowns while the rest is conditional on regulatory approvals, Kinnevik said in a statement.
Iliad will hold less than 30% of the voting interest in Tele2 following completion of the transaction, Kinnevik said.
Unlisted Iliad, founded and majority owned by French billionaire Xavier Niel, is seeking to push consolidation of Europe's telecoms sector.
In 2022, Niel took control of a 2.5% stake in Vodafone.
The company offered over €11 billion to buy Vodafone Italy outright the same year but was rebuffed, which lead to a sweetened offer last month, which was also rejected by Vodafone.
He has telecoms investments in nine countries in Europe, including in Ireland with eir, with nearly 50 million active subscribers and more than €10 billion of revenue.
