Norwegian telecom giant Telenor had a busy day today. The company announced the sale of its subsidiary Conax to the Swiss company Kudelski for 1.5 billion crowns ($248 million), and on the same day the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) Surveillance Authority opened formal antitrust proceedings against the telecom and its parent company Telenor ASA.
Conax, which provides security solutions for digital video content distribution, serves approximately 380 customers globally, representing 140 million pay-tv consumers. Telenor said it sold the business to focus more on its core telecom activities. “The Conax operation has been very successful with a strong track record of international growth and high profitability,” said Patrik Hofbauer, CEO of Telenor Broadcast. “However, as competition increases and new technologies emerge, achieving global scale and enhancing market share will be key determinants of future success.”
The EFTA Security Authority wants to take a closer look at the way Telenor has been achieving that success. The authority is looking to see whether the telecom has put an “illegal margin squeeze” on its competitors with the prices it has charged for mobile data services and bundled mobile telecom services.
The antitrust investigation follows the authority’s raid on Telenor offices in Norway in December 2012. If Telenor is found to have violated competition rules, the authority can fine the company up to 10% of its global turnover.
More telecom news from Europe:
SFR bidding war heats up in France: Even though Vivendi entered into exclusive negotiations with Numericable for the sale of its telecom unit SFR, the French telecom Bouygues has upped its original bid by €1.85 billion to €13.15 billion ($18.1 billion) in cash, and a 21.5% stake in the merged telecom the deal would create. Now Vivendi has reportedly asked Numericable to up its offer. The exclusive negotiations are supposed to end on April 4.
Orange board voting on March 26 whether to keep troubled CEO. Despite an ongoing investigation, CEO Stephane Richard wants a second term as the CEO of Orange, the telecom that is partially owned by the French government. Richard is being investigated for his role in a 2008 arbitration case that resulted in a large payout to businessman Bernard Tapie.
GSMA pans EU’s proposed net neutrality reforms. After the European Parliament’s Industry Research and Energy Committee (ITRE) backed proposals to boost net neutrality the GSMA Europe director, Martin Whitehead said they would “hinder innovation and constraint the development of new services.“
