Company briefs - 2004-09-29

TeliaSonera increased its shareholding in Eesti Telekom from 48.91 percent to 49.26 percent in a stock transaction last week. Kenneth Karlberg, chief of TeliaSonera's operations in Norway, Denmark and the Baltics, said after a failed buyout offer in June that the company would continue to keep an eye on the share and that it might be ready to acquire a small majority in Telekom.

The Latvian government sold its 4.7 percent stake in the sweets manufacturer Staburadze to the largest holder, Icelandic-owned Nordic Food, which had previously offered a buyout to minority shareholders. Proceeds from the sale 's 157,300 lats (235,000 euros) 's will be transferred to the special state pension budget. The sale took place after Nordic Food's buyout offer expired; in mid-August the government had resolved to accept the offer, but the deal was delayed due to banking formalities. Upon transfer of state-held shares, the Icelandic shareholder will increase its participation in Staburadze to 63.24 percent.

A subsidiary of Severstal, the Russian industrial group, will buy AS E.O.S. (Estonian Oil Service), the largest transit operator in the country. With Netherland's Arnout Lugtmeijer as chairman of the board, E.O.S. is owned by Estonia Holdings, a foreign-registered company. Although negotiations have reached the final stages, there is no signed agreement yet. Severstaltrans, the Severstal subsidiary, has declined to comment. According to the local press, the transaction was not voluntary on the part of E.O.S. owners, as Russian exporters have been keeping the company under pressure by cutting delivery volumes.