Contracts Signed with Advisors of the Acquisition of Telia Company’s Stakes in Tet and LMT, Advisors Begin Work

During the end of the last week, contracts were signed for the provision of financial and legal advisory services to Possessor, Latvenergo and LVRTC in connection with a potential transaction to acquire Telia Company’s stakes in Tet and LMT. The advisors have begun work which includes an in-depth assessment of the companies, the attraction of a reputable investor, organising the acquisition of Telia Company’s stakes and developing a future strategy.

For the project, a team of advisors led by U.S.-based global investment bank J.P. Morgan has been attracted. Consortia consist of J.P. Morgan, A&O Shearman and WALLESS as well as Deloitte, TEGOS and Hardimann Telecommunications.

Advisors will be responsible for structuring the acquisition of stakes in Tet and LMT, conducting the investor selection process, organising the completion of the transaction and, together with the companies, developing a future strategy. Advisors will also carry out the due diligence of Tet and LMT. Upon signing the contracts, the advisors immediately commenced their work by becoming acquainted with both companies, Tet and LMT.

The advisors were selected from among 16 candidates through a detailed three-month international selection process. These candidates were also subject to the security checks required by law.

“We have succeeded in attracting international advisors with world-class experience who will help execute the vision of those involved in the transaction. The selection committee has performed extensive work, in order to evaluate the advisors’ previous experience and their vision for the methodology for the task assigned to them. Even though the selection took more time than initially planned, it is essential that advisors begin work immediately in simultaneous workflows,” says Ģirts Ozols, Chairman of the Management Board of LVRTC.

“The strong level of interest we observed from advisors confirms Latvia’s attractiveness as a favourable and safe investment destination. The interest shown by global advisors highlights the potential of Latvia’s telecommunications and digital services sectors for further development,” emphasises Mārtiņš Čakste, Chairman of the Management Board of Latvenergo.

“For both Latvenergo and LVRTC, the potential transaction represents an investment decision in a sector that offers significant synergy potential and the opportunity to build a regional-level digital services company. The transaction would enable both LMT and Tet to enter a new phase of development. If all plans are successfully implemented, Tet and LMT could become the leading digital services providers in the Baltic region,” adds Čakste.

The further implementation of the transaction is organised through several parallel workstreams: the due diligence process, negotiations with investors and the development of a future strategy jointly by the companies and their advisor, as well as structuring the acquisition of stakes in Tet

and LMT, will be launched simultaneously. In line with the planned timeline a reputable investor will be attracted this year.

J.P. Morgan is a leading global investment bank advising companies and governments on mergers and acquisitions (M&A), financing and capital raising, thereby helping its clients achieve their most complex strategic objectives.

A&O Shearman is an international law consultancy, providing consultancy in business transformation, thus helping clients to achieve the highest results in cross-border transactions, and navigate the changing world and regulatory environment.

WALLESS is the Baltic’s leading transaction and law services provider to both local and international clients in business law, with additional focus on M&A and financing transactions.

Deloitte is one of the Big 4 consultancies, which provides professional services in audit, tax, consulting, management, risk advisory, financial advisory, and legal services.

TEGOS is a recognised top-tier Baltic law firm with extensive experience in the telecommunications sector and a strong track record in delivering complex, multi-stakeholder projects, including legal due diligence across multiple jurisdictions.

Hardiman Telecommunications is a telecommunications and technology advisory firm specialising in sales and mergers and acquisitions advisory, strategy development, as well as the planning and optimisation of commercial and technical operations.