Telenor has closed the transaction to sell 30 percent of Telenor Fiber, in Norway to a consortium led by KKR, investing through its Core Infrastructure strategy, with Oslo Pensjonsforsikring as co-investor.

The deal values Telenor Fiber at NOK 36.1 billion. Telenor will receive NOK 10.8 billion from the sale of 30 percent stake. Telenor aims to use part of the proceeds for share buy backs.

The Norwegian fibre business had a proforma EBITDA of NOK 1.7 billion in 2021.

“This transaction is an important milestone in our new strategy of reshaping Telenor. We are showing the value in Telenor’s infrastructure while safeguarding future investments in Norway’s fiber,” says Jannicke Hilland, EVP of Telenor Infrastructure.

Telenor aims to capture a substantial share of the remaining fibre market in Norway and will continue to strengthen fibre coverage in Norway and provide consumers with increased access to high speed fixed, mobile and TV offerings.

“We are very excited to invest and contribute to the long-term development of Telenor’s fiber strategy and infrastructure, building on KKR’s significant experience within digital infrastructure investing,” said Julian Barratt-Due, Director, European Infrastructure at KKR.

Telenor maintains control in Telenor Fiber with 70 percent of the shares. Telenor Fiber will own the passive fibre assets in Norway. This includes 130,000 km of cables, connecting upwards of 560,000 homes.

Telenor Group is a leading telecommunications company across the Nordics and Asia with 172 million customers and annual sales of around USD 13 billion in 2021.