Finland's third-largest telecom operator DNA has seen price competition getting fiercer but the newly consolidated group is still ready to go public this year, its chief executive said.
The British private equity group 3i bought into DNA when it was still called Finnet Oy in May last year and currently owns 13 percent after DNA was renamed and expanded through a merger with five small local fixed line operators.
"Price competition is tough. It is tougher now than it was late last year. Our competition has become more aggressive. They are probably worried over our continued growth," Jan-Erik Frostdahl told Reuters in an interview.
He said DNA would be ready to go for a public share market listing this year but he could not comment on exactly when DNA's owners were planning to do so. "For the owners it is important that we have the ability to do (list) and that's what we are preparing for right now, as the window for opportunity might be quite short," he said.
DNA was closing the gap on the mature Finnish market's top two operators TeliaSonera and Elisa in the first quarter, gaining more new clients than its bigger rivals.
Frostdahl said DNA expects its second-quarter financial performance to at least reach the first-quarter levels and sales to grow slightly, a view he said had been strengthened by the latest April figures.
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