BELLEVUE, Wash.-Western Wireless Corp. subsidiary Western Wireless International Corp. reported an agreement to sell its 19-percent interest in Croatia’s largest GSM wireless operator VIPnet d.o.o. to Mobilkom Austria Aktiengesellschaft & CO KG.
Western Wireless International said it expects to receive $70 million in proceeds from the sale, which it added would be a 42-percent internal rate of return on its original investment.
“We are very pleased to demonstrate again the value we can create for our shareholders as an operating partner in our international ventures,” said John Stanton, chairman and chief executive officer of Western Wireless.
Western Wireless International added it controls interests in wireless carriers serving 836,400 customers in nine countries, including Ireland, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Georgia, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Bolivia and Haiti.
