Eir-owner Iliad buys stake in Sweden's Tele2 for €1.1bn

French billionaire investor Xavier Niel and his Iliad telecoms group owns Eir in Ireland. Picture: Fennell Photography

French billionaire investor Xavier Niel and his Iliad telecoms group, which owns Eir in Ireland, have agreed to buy about 20% of Swedish telecoms operator Tele2 for €1.16bn, investment company Kinnevik has said. 

Mr Niel and his companies will buy the stake from Kinnevik, the largest shareholder in Tele2. The transaction will take place in three steps, with Iliad holding less than 30% of the voting interest in Tele2 following completion.  

Iliad, which is privately-held, was founded and majority owned by Mr Niel. It is seeking to push consolidation of Europe's telecoms sector.

In 2022, Mr Niel took control of a 2.5% stake in Vodafone and his company subsequently offered over €11bn to buy Vodafone Italy outright the same year but was rebuffed, which led to a sweetened offer last month, which was also rejected by Vodafone. 

Kinnevik's sale will prompt the company to review its capital structure together with major shareholders, its chief executive Georgi Ganev said.

"After completion of this transaction, Kinnevik will hold a very strong net cash position," Mr Ganev said in a statement. 

"We will deploy the capital with patience and focus to bring further clarity to our equity story and value creation to our shareholders," he said. 

• Reuters