Kinnevik AB (KINV-A.ST)

France's Iliad to take $1.3 billion stake in Sweden's Tele2

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) -French investor Xavier Niel and his Iliad telecoms group have agreed to buy a 19.8% stake in Swedish telecoms operator Tele2 for 13 billion crowns ($1.26 billion), investment company Kinnevik said in a statement on Monday. Niel and his companies will buy the stake from Kinnevik, the largest shareholder in Tele2, through Freya Investissement. The transaction will take place in three steps with a first close of 2.9 billion crowns while the rest is conditional on regulatory approvals, Kinnevik said.