Stockholm shares slightly lower early; TeliaSonera higher on Turkcell news

Stockholm shares slightly lower early; TeliaSonera higher on Turkcell news

	Published : Fri, 26 Jan 2007 10:54 By : Agencies Print this Story

STOCKHOLM (AFX) - Shares were slightly lower in early morning trade on profit-taking, with TeliaSonera however sharply outperforming on positive news about its associated company Turkcell, dealers said.

At 10.15 am, the OMX Stockholm index was down 0.54 pct at 384.99, and the OMX Stockholm 30 was down 0.56 pct at 1,179.15.

TeliaSonera was up 1.81 pct at 56.25 skr bid. A tribunal ruled in TeliaSonera's favour, finding that a binding share purchase agreement was concluded between it and Turkey's Cukurova group regarding jointly held Turkcell Holding.

TeliaSonera has a 47.1 pct stake in Turkcell Holding, and the March 2005 purchase agreement calls for Cukurova to sell all the remaining shares in Turkcell Holding, 51 pct owner of the fast-growing Turkish mobile operator Turkcell, to TeliaSonera for 3.1 bln usd in cash, thereby increasing TeliaSonera's effective ownership in the operator Turkcell to 64.3 pct.

'This is good news, but I am not sure what it really changes. I have always thought it probable that TeliaSonera would in the end come out victorious in the tribunal. But it certainly increases the probability of the deal going through,' Sven Skoeld at Swedbank said.

'TeliaSonera is trading at a PE-ratio of 15.5, while Turkcell is trading at a PE-ratio of 10, so if TeliaSonera could get control over Turkcell it would be valued at a PE-ratio of 15.5 or over 50 pct above its current valuation, so gaining control would thus be a value-creating move,' he added.

Tele2 B was down 0.24 at 104.25. Tele2 said it will sell Tele2 Netherlands and Tele2 Belgium to its unit Versatel for 200 mln eur on a cash and debt-free basis. Versatel said it also intends to raise 255 mln eur in a rights offering.

Ericsson B was down 0.52 at 28.45, and Nokia up 1.56 pct at 149.80.

Skanska B was up 0.52 pct at 145.25. Skanska said it has won an order worth 998 mln usd (7.4 bln skr) to construct the new Meadowlands NFL Football Stadium in New Jersey. Skanska said this is the largest US order ever for the company.

Scania B was down 0.21 pct at 468. CEO Leif Ostling said in an interview with the Financial Times that an alliance allowing cooperation between his company and German truck maker MAN, rather than a merger, has 'industrial merit.'

Sandvik was down 1.68 pct at 102.50. Sandvik said it has reached an agreement with the American private-equity company Littlejohn & Co to acquire Diamond Innovations Inc for an undisclosed sum.

Diamond Innovations develops and produces synthetic diamond and cubic boron nitride products for such industrial applications as machining, oil- and gas-drilling, grinding, rock-drilling and wire-drawing. Diamond Innovations has annual sales in excess of 1 bln skr, and about 600 employees.

Investor B was down 0.30 pct at 168.50. Investor said it and Morgan Stanley Principal Investments (MSPI) have signed an agreement to acquire Moelnlycke Health Care Group AB from Apax Partners for an enterprise value (EV) of 2.85 bln eur.

Investor said the majority of the acquisition will be financed by external debt and will be made through a bid vehicle equally controlled by Investor and MSPI, with Moelnlycke's management as minority shareholders.

TF.TFN-EuropeStockholm@thomson.com

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