Telenor acquires Mobi 63 in Serbia

The winning bid of EUR 1,513 million, secures a 100 per cent share of Mobi 63, and a 10 year licence for GSM 900/1800 and 3G operation for the company, subsequently renewable for a successive 10 year period on application.

"We are naturally excited at expanding our footprint and adding this new company to the Telenor Group. Serbia has long been an interesting market for us. Telenor first entered the Balkan region more than 10 years ago and we currently have mobile operations in a number of neighbouring countries. The acquisition of Mobi 63 will allow us to further our aim of creating a strong Telenor operational hub in this prioritised geographical area with long-term synergies across the companies," said Jon Fredrik Baksaas, President and CEO, Telenor.

The population of Serbia is approximately 7.5 million. GDP per capita in 2005 was estimated at USD 3 420. GDP growth in 2005 was 6.2 per cent in USD. There are currently two mobile operators in the country and according to Telenor estimates the current penetration is 65%.

At the end of 2005, Mobi 63 had a reported customer base of approximately 2.5 million, an active customer base of around 2.1 million and a market share of approximately 45 per cent. Reported network coverage is approximately 90% of the territory and over 95% of total population. According to Telenor, estimated revenues for 2005 were around EUR 233 million with an EBITDA margin of about 53%. EBIT for 2005 was around EUR 96 million and CAPEX for 2005 was EUR 44 million. Mobi 63 is debt free. The company has around 950 employees.

There is high demand for both advanced and innovative services and for basic affordable mobile communication. Telenor will utilize the experience from the Telenor Group as well as local Serbian expertise to enhance the company's performance and secure the best possible mobile services for the Serbian market.

Conference call
In connection with Telenor's acquisition of Mobi 63, a conference call will be held today, Monday 31 July at 13:00 CET . The call will be held in English. All participants will be given the opportunity to ask questions directly after a short presentation by Executive Vice President and Head of Telenor's Central/Eastern European Operations Mr. Jan Edvard Thygesen.

To participate in the conference call, please register well in advance by calling (+47) 800 80 119 (from Norway) or (+47) 23 00 04 00 (from Norway or abroad).

The presentation used during the conference call will be available on www.telenor.com/ir .

For further information, please contact:

Kai Rosenberg, Vice President Corporate Communications
Telenor ASA, Mobile: +47915 54357