Scandinavian telcos talk over $17bn merger

NEWS Finnish incumbent telco Sonera and its Swedish counterpart Telia have re-opened their on-off negotiations over a possible merger. Both companies are still majority owned by the state, Sonera 53 per cent state-owned and Telia 70 per cent - making any negotiations politically sensitive. According to the Financial Times Finland's Prime Minister, Paavo Lipponen, has confirmed talks are underway but could not confirm at what stage they are - though insiders warned previous talks have stuttered and failed and this latest round may be no different. Reports suggest a merged company would have a market cap of around $17bn.