Abstract
In July 2018, Telia was the Nordic region's dominant telecommunications company, with almost 17 million mobile (cell phone) subscriptions, almost 3 million broadband customers and operating cash flow of more than EUR1 billion. The next generation 5G network equipment promised to generate growing demand for bandwidth. Yet, Telia faced several challenges. The year before, Telia had settled corruption charges related to Central Asian operations with total sanctions of almost one billion Euro, and the organization was being revamped to improve the culture. For the long term, bandwidth risked commoditization, customer churn was increasing for telecommunications services, and Telia's management feared margins were moving away from distribution toward content provision. Now, after extended negotiations, Telia had the opportunity to acquire Bonnier Broadcasting, a TV company with both broadcast and streaming operations. The deal would be a unique opportunity to combine distribution with content, and would include the growing streaming service C More in Telia's portfolio, as well as Sweden's second largest broadcast television channel, TV4. Synergies could be large, but the integration posed formidable challenges. A deal was on the table for SEK10.2 Billion. Now CEO Johan Dennelind and his management team had to decide whether to sign the agreement.