The buyout of shares of SIA Tet and SIA Latvijas mobilais telefons (LMT) from the Swedish company Telia will not be carried out with funds from the state budget, said Prime Minister Evika Silinya (New Unity) in a interview program “900 seconds” on TV3.As of now the state and Telia are in negotiation, “there is a fight” over price and terms. “In any case, we want to keep and gain more influence on the Tet, and the LMT,” Silinya said. Prime Minister explained that now the
companies compete and fight with each other, but in the interest of the state, so that businesses can make more profit, not competing between themselves, but providing the best services and taking more market share. Silinya emphasized
that when agreeing on a deal there are numerous options – not only payment. “However, if payment is required, it will not be done with the public budget. “There are different options,” the government chief responded to the question about the sources of funding, without specifying where the money could be taken and how the
payment would be made. As already reported, Telia is not commenting on the offer, the government of Latvia with regard to telecommunications companies SIA Tet and SIA Latvijas mobilais telefons (LMT), a spokesman for Telia Tubias
Gilenius told LETA agency. He confirmed that Telia has received an offer from the government of Latvia about the state’s
willingness to purchase the shares of Tet and LMT. “We have considered this proposal and have communicated to the government of Latvia our position, but sinceThese
negotiations are confidential, we will not give any additional comments, ” said Gilenius. As already reported, Minister of Economy Viktor Valainis (Union of Greens and peasants) in late December in social network “X” indicated, that
the company Telia, a and also presented its vision and suggested a meeting proposal with some solutions. Valainis noted that the Ministry of Economy will in the next time to inform the government about Telia’s
meeting proposal, in order to decide on further actions. But the minister did not provide more detailed information, stating that the response from Telia contains
commercial secret. The Cabinet of Ministers on 18 December 2024 authorized the Ministry of Economy to make an offer to Telia to purchase all of
its own shares in Tet and LMT. The amount of the possible deal, as Valainis has said earlier, is a commercial secret secret and will be disclosed only in the case, if Telia officially agrees to the offer of the government of Latvia. Talking about the possible future structure of Tet and LMT’s activities, Valainis
said earlier , that the government has a clear image of what to do next, if Telia accepts the suggested resolution, but “then it would need to be further evaluated
by the government, how to structure this deal, so that it would have the fewest impact on the government budget.” Whether the government has any other scenarios prepared, if Telia doesn’t accept this proposal,
Valainis noted, that there are other possible options, which will not be disclosed. It is also reported that on 19 November 19 2024 the Government will require that the Gov.closed door considered more than 30 different directions for future scenarios for the LMT and Tet, but the final
position has not been confirmed, the Ministry of Economy will have to refine the plans. Unofficially the agency LETA has become known, that in the negotiations between the state of Latvia and Telia discussed a number of possible options from the merger of Tet and LMT to maintaining the current situation. The
possibility of purchasing both companies from Telia integrally or partially, as well as the separation of separate assets. Member of the Management of the Council of Foreign Investors in Latvia
and Senior Partner of the Counsel of Eversheds-Sutherland Maris Maris Wajnowski’s earlier in an interview on TV3’s program “900 seconds” noted, that there are signals of interest from the owner and chairman of network equipment manufacturer SIA Mikrotīkls John Tully to invest in Tet and LMT. In his own time there was a complex scheme for the management of Tet and LMT, which until now has not been changed because of
the lack of agreement between the shareholders the Latvian state and Telia. In Tet the State owns 51% of shares, the subsidiary Telia Tilts Communications – 49%. A A there in LMT 49% owned by Telia and its subsidiary Sonera Holding, 28% by the state, and another 23% share by Tet. From one side, actually Telia’s ownership of the LMT is more 60%, and
from the other side the decisive control through Tet is always exercised by the state. The Sides have been unhappy with each other, but they cannot agree for years. The State in the person SIA Publisko aktīvu pārvalvaldītājs “Possessor (Possessor) owns 51% of the share in Tet, and the subsidiary of Telia – “Tilts Communications” – 49%.shares
in Tet. In the capital of LMT in total complexity 49% owned by Telia and its subsidiary Sonera Holding, 28% – Latvian state through AOAO Latvijas Valsts radio un televīzijas centrs (LVRTC) and “Possessor” (5%), and another 23% of LMT shares owned Tet. Theoretically this means
that in the present time through the mediation of Telia the Telia share in the LMT capital is 60.3%, and the Latvian state is 39.7%. But in practice this does not occur, and
in fact the state has decisive control and in the LMT, as it owns the majority in the Tet. At the same time it is inhibiting the making of a number of strategic decisions, which require unanimity. The business of Telia is not smooth. In 2021 the company adopted a four-year plan to reduce spending. In last year the cuts
touched1500employees,inSeptemberofthisyearTeliaannouncedthefiringofanother3000people.These includedemployees at the company’sbranchesinLithuaniaandEstonia.At theendof2023yearTeliahadabout462462000shareholders.TheSwedishstateowns41.1%ofshares,theothershareholdershavenomorethan5%each.TheCompanyislistedonNasdaqStockholmandNasdaqHelsinki.Telia,as ashareholder inTetandLMT,has blockedtheparticipationofthecompaniesinsomemilitaryprojects,itbecameknowninOctober.Thiswas confirmedbyPresidentofLatviaEdgarRinkevichintheNekāPersonīgāprogramNekāPersonīgāonTV3.AllegedlyLatviawantedLMTtoparticipateinthe”StateDefenseCorporation” project,whichwouldbuild aplanttoproduceartillerymunitions.Butthestatestruggledwithahard”no”fromTelia’sside.
