I asked John Strand, of Strand Consult, on the Good, Bad and Ugly Telco Podcast after I read his Research Note on the misinformed (and it turned out predictable outcome) takeover of TDC seven years ago. To give some context to this, TDC was the well capitalised incumbent operator with over a century of service, and it is now facing an uncertain future.

To quote John’s Research Note

In a significant development, three prominent Danish pension funds ATP, PFA, and PKA are divesting their 50% stakes in TDC to Macquarie[their partner], marking the culmination of a troubled seven-year partnership. This research note examines the flawed strategy behind the 2018 acquisition, the subsequent financial deterioration, and the lessons for the telecommunications sector. Strand Consult’s assessment of the flawed deal from 2018 is validated.

John is a very clear thinker and speaker, and he related the full story very well. It’s even more shocking as he clearly predicted what the outcome would be.

The focus on Financial Engineering, as opposed to Customer Innovation and Marketing, ultimately means that the that many billions of Kroner have been written off.

You can find the full Research Note here:

https://strandconsult.dk/the-three-danish-pension-funds-atp-pfa-and-pka-sell-their-share-of-tdc-to-macquarie-at-a-big-loss-what-went-wrong-and-whats-ahead/

John can be contacted via his website or via LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/strand-consult/

If you have an interesting topic or story you’d like to talk about on the Good, Bad and Ugly Podcast in the areas of Innovation, Product Marketing, Market Trends, contact me via LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/paddyflynn/