Telenor buys 57.5% stake in Swedish broadband provider Bahnhof for $629 million

Telenor ASA agreed to acquire a controlling 57.5% stake in Swedish broadband provider Bahnhof AB in a deal valued at 6.1 billion Swedish kronor ($629 million) including debt, marking the Norwegian telecom's biggest push into Sweden's fixed broadband market.

The company will pay 60 kronor a share for the 50.8% stake held by founders Jon Karlung and Andreas Norman, and 62 kronor a share for the 6.7% held by Oresund Investment, Bahnhof's second-largest shareholder. The offer price represents a 22% premium to Bahnhof's closing price of 50.90 kronor on Tuesday.

"Sweden is the largest Nordic market by population and a key strategic priority for us," said Benedicte Schilbred Fasmer, chief executive officer of Telenor. "This transaction gives us the breadth and scale to compete more effectively and create long-term value for customers and shareholders."

Bahnhof generated revenue of 2.3 billion kronor in the 12 months through the first quarter, with earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of 360 million kronor and free cash flow of 240 million kronor. The company serves more than 500,000 consumer and about 15,000 enterprise customers across Sweden, with assets including proprietary network infrastructure, access to open networks and five co-location data centers.

Telenor expects the acquisition to boost annual EBITDA by an average of about 700 million kronor during the first four years of ownership, before annual integration costs of about 100 million kronor over the same period. The deal will make Telenor Sweden's second-largest fixed broadband provider, lifting its consumer subscriber market share to about 27% from roughly 15%.

Following completion, Bahnhof will continue to operate under its own brand. Karlung and co-founder Norman will join Telenor as part of the transaction. The deal is expected to close within four to eight months, subject to regulatory approvals, after which Telenor will launch a mandatory cash offer for all remaining Bahnhof shares at 62 kronor each.

The acquisition underscores a broader consolidation trend in Nordic telecommunications, where operators are seeking scale to fund fiber and 5G network investments while competing with regional players and municipal broadband providers. For Telenor, the deal provides an established customer base and infrastructure in Sweden without the cost of building a fixed network from scratch.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.