Swisscom sells stake in Belgian BICS
Swisscom is selling its stake in the Belgian telecommunications company Belgacom International Carrier Services (BICS). The stake, which amounts to 22.4 percent, will now be transferred to the company’s previous majority shareholder, the Belgian telecommunications group Proximus. Swisscom will receive 110 million euros in return, as it announced on Tuesday.
The other minority shareholder, the South African Mobile Telephone Networks group (MTN), will also sell its shares. Proximus, which is still more than 50 percent owned by the Belgian government, will become the sole shareholder in BICS.
The transaction will have no major financial impact on Swisscom. The financial outlook for the 2021 financial year will not change, according to the communiqué. As a spokeswoman added in response to a query from the AWP news agency, the transaction is not expected to have any impact on the operating result (EBITDA), "as it is only a minority interest.
Swisscom also did not provide any information on the book value. "However, we expect a book profit in the low double-digit million range from the sale in the first quarter," she said.
Origin of cooperation in 2005
The origins of the Belgacom-Swisscom collaboration date back to 2005, when Belgacom SA and Swisscom Fixnet AG merged their international wholesale business, according to the Swiss telecom group's spokeswoman.
To this end, they founded the joint venture BICS, which is now being taken over in full by Proximus. In recent years, the joint venture has made it possible to strengthen competitiveness in the international wholesale market. It has also been possible to exploit synergies, according to the spokeswoman.
The sale was nevertheless the right thing to do, he said, as Swisscom now only wants to invest in businesses that are strategically relevant to it. The exact timing of the closing is now still dependent on the usual regulatory approvals.
Previous contracts remain in place
Previous contracts between Swisscom and BICS will also remain in place. For example, the "blue giant" handles a large part of its international telephone minutes business under a supplier relationship with BICS. In addition, all signaling and part of Swisscom's international SMS traffic is handled by BICS, the spokeswoman added. (SDA)
