Henning Dyremose, former top executive at TDC, has strongly criticized a decision made by the TDC board of directors in 2005 to remove a safeguard against takeover, arguing that this move paved the way for the company’s eventual split and acquisition by an Australian private equity fund. Dyremose believes this decision ultimately diminished TDC from a major European player to a smaller Danish entity.

Dyremose voiced his disappointment with the current state of TDC, lamenting its decline from Denmark’s fifth-largest company to one outside the top 50. He expressed concerns that the dismantling of TDC hinders Denmark’s ability to maintain its position as a digital pioneer due to reduced investment in infrastructure.

In his new memoir, Dyremose attributes the events leading to TDC’s decline to several individuals, including former TDC chairman Thorleif Krarup, former Social Democratic Prime Ministers Poul Nyrup Rasmussen and Mogens Lykketoft, and the private equity funds that acquired TDC in 2005. He claims these funds misled him about their intentions for the company.

Dyremose specifically points to the removal of a voting rights restriction that limited any shareholder’s influence to 9.5 percent, regardless of their shareholding. This restriction, implemented during TDC’s privatization in 1994, was abolished in March 2005, which Dyremose argues opened the door for takeover bids.

Following the removal of the restriction, several private equity funds expressed interest in acquiring TDC. In November 2005, Nordic Telephone Company, a consortium of five private equity funds, made a bid of DKK 382 per share, leading to a takeover. The funds then withdrew DKK 43.5 billion from TDC to finance the deal and sold off foreign telecommunications companies.

Dyremose also regrets his decision to become chairman of TDC from 2007 to 2008, stating that he felt the funds were misusing his name. He also criticized the private equity funds for distributing an extraordinary dividend of DKK 43.5 billion, which he claims was used to finance their purchase of the company.