- Telenor offloads 50% stake in Allente to Viaplay for $113 million
- Shift reflects telcos’ growing focus on core network and broadband services
What happened: Telenor exits Allente with $113M sale to Viaplay
Telenor has decided to sell its 50% stake in the TV company Allente to Viaplay. The deal is worth about $113 million. The two companies merged Telenor’s Canal Digital with Viaplay’s Viasat Consumer to form Allente in 2020. Allente now serves around 840,000 subscribers across Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland. It provides TV services through satellite, IPTV and streaming. It also offers fixed broadband in Sweden.
The Norwegian telecoms group said the sale is part of a natural change in its relationship with Viaplay. Dan Ouchterlony, executive vice president at Telenor Amp, said that Allente now fits better with Viaplay’s plans than with Telenor’s. He also said he believes the company will do well under Viaplay’s full ownership. The total value of Allente is set at around $300 million. Since the company was formed, Telenor and Viaplay have already received almost $420 million in dividends from it. The sale still needs approval from regulators, but the companies expect to finish the process by the end of this year.
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Why it’s important
Telenor’s move shows a wider trend among telecom companies. Many of them are now stepping away from content businesses and focusing again on their core services. Earlier this year, Telia, a major Nordic telecom operator, sold its TV and media business to Schibsted for about $600 million. That deal was completed just a few weeks ago. It came not long after Telia had spent a lot of money to buy those same media assets. These changes suggest that big telecoms are moving away from trying to own and manage content.
Telenor’s decision also matches its other recent investments. Last week, the company said it would buy GlobalConnect’s fibre network in Norway for about $582 million. That deal includes around 140,000 broadband customers. Telenor did not say how it will use the $113 million from the Allente sale, but telecom companies usually have many reasons to raise cash. They need funds to upgrade mobile networks, expand fibre coverage, and invest in things like cloud services and AI.
