VimpelCom, Megafon deals opposed by Russian regulator

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Alfa Group’s efforts to combine two of Russia’s biggest mobile operators VimpelCom and Megafon with peers in Ukraine and Turkey have been blocked by Russia’s competition watchdog, Igor Artemev.

According to the head of Russia’s Federal Anti-monopoly Service, the deals simultaneously would be undesirable and even unacceptable. Most of the shares of VimpelCom and Ukraine’s Kyivstar are owned by Alfa and Norwegian co-investor Telenor. Plans to combine the two companies were announced last September.

Alfa along with its Nordic partner TeliaSonera joined the forces several week later to try and merge Russia’s third-largest mobile firm Megafon with Turkey’s largest mobile company Turkcell.