Tele Danmark Increases Ownership in Netcom ASA

COPENHAGEN, Denmark, May 18 -- In addition to its current 9,701,550 shares of Netcom ASA, Tele Danmark A/S bought another 25,000 shares on Tuesday.
Tele Danmark's largest shareholder is SBC Communications Inc., which owns 41.6 percent of the shares in Tele Danmark and 19.56 percent of the shares in NetCom ASA. Combined, Tele Danmark and SBC own 39.95 percent of the shares in NetCom ASA. With Tele Danmark's recent purchase the companies will own interest in NetCom in excess of 40 percent. Under Norwegian law such a percentage calls for a mandatory bid.
Tele Danmark is Denmark's main provider of telecommunications services. The company also holds interests in a variety of telecom companies across Europe.