Swedish telco Tele2 has struck a deal to take over cable-television operator Com Hem in a $3.2bn (€2.7bn) deal.
Tele2 chief executive Allison Kirkby told the Reuters news agency that the two companies are “very complementary”, with the parties confident of closing the deal in the second half of 2018.
Tele2 will be able to add television services to its range of products, as well as fixed-line connectivity. Com Hem’s household customers will be able to access mobile telephony services.
A merger has been on the cards since investment vehicle Kinnevik, Tele2’s main shareholder, acquired an 18.5-per-cent stake in Com Hem in April last year to become the latter’s largest shareholder.
Kinnevik, which will have a stake of 27.3 per cent in the combined company, has indicated that it would be prepared to take steps to ensure the deal is approved by European competition regulators.
Last July, Com Hem agreed a multi-year deal with Modern Times Group for carriage of the multi-territory commercial and pay-television broadcaster’s channels. The contract made Viasat Sport Premium’s content, which includes English Premier League football, available to Com Hem subscribers.