The telecommunication company TeliaSonera has offered to buy the Latvian government's 51 percent stake in the fixed-line telephone provider Lattelekom

The telecommunication company TeliaSonera has offered to buy the Latvian government's 51 percent stake in the fixed-line telephone provider Lattelekom. The Swedish-Finnish company reportedly made a simultaneous settlement offer in the arbitration dispute with the Latvian government and secured for itself a majority stake in mobile operator Latvijas Mobilais Telefons, according to the paper. An unofficial source close to the negotiation process told Dienas Bizness on condition of anonymity that TeliaSonera, in order to obtain 100 percent in Lattelekom and secure an indirect controlling stake in LMT, is ready to pay 2 billion kronor (222.22 million euros) -3 billion kronor. The source said that TeliaSonera, as part of the arbitration settlement with the Latvian state over its decision to cut short Lattelekom's monopoly status in apparent violation of a previous agreement, was offering various possibilities for the purchase of Lattelekom shares - from buying a small share to acquire majority control to purchasing the state's majority stake outright. A TeliaSonera spokeswoman refused to comment on the news. TeliaSonera currently owns a 48 percent stake in Lattelekom and has sued the government over its decision to end the company's monopoly on fixed-line services on Jan. 1 of this year. The monopoly was originally intended to last until 2010. TeliaSonera also owns 49 percent of LMT, one of two mobile telephone providers in Latvia. Lattelekom also owns 23 percent of LMT.