Russian competition regulator FAS has given a clean chit for the acquisition of the regional mobile operator NTC by the mobile operator VimpelCom, working under the Beeline brand.
According to reports, applications from mobile operators MTS and MegaFon on the takeover have been rejected. NTC is controlled by Korea Telecom and it has a mobile market share of 40% in the Primorye region. The application of Beeline was approved by the regulator due to the modest market penetration in the region.
Russian mobile operator MegaFon is interested in acquiring the regional mobile operator NTC.
According to reports, the company is cautious about pursuing a deal, due to expected opposition from the national competition regulator FAS.
MegaFon’s market share in the region would exceed 50% if it acquired NTC. NTC operates in the Primorye region, with a subscriber base of 1.5 million. Korea Telecom, the owner of NTC, plans to sell the regional operator.
Russian cellco VimpelCom has announced that it has purchased 100% stake in PolarCom, which claims to be one of the largest fixed line voice telephony providers in Murmansk, a seaport situated in the extreme north west of Russia.
The value of the transaction is believed to be US$5.8 million. PolarCom currently provides fixed line services for corporate clients and residential customers using its wholly-owned 250km length of fibre-optic infrastructure.
VimpelCom has indicated that the acquisition of PolarCom is part of its fixed line expansion strategy, which aims to spread the provision of fixed line services to Russia’s regions. Going forward, PolarCom is expected to be re-branded as Beeline, in keeping with VimpelCom’s other operations elsewhere. Russian regional operator North-West Telecom has previously submitted an application for the acquisition of Polarcom on two separate occasions, with both applications rejected by the Federal Anti-monopoly Service (FAS).
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: In a move to speed up expansion of broadband business, the USD710 million buyout of wireless broadband operator Synterra has been completed by Russian cellco MegaFon.
Federal Anti-monopoly Service (FAS) gave clearance to MegaFon at the end of July 2009 to buy 100% of Synterra’s shares. On February 25, 2010, cellco’s board met to approve the acquisition of the telco. According to Sergei Soldatenkov, MegaFon’s director general, Synterra is very important for the company for its backbone network and corporate clients.
Synterra operates the second largest backbone network in Russia and also owns a controlling stake in a number of wireline operators, such as St Petersburg-based PeterStar.
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: MTS, Vimpelcom and Megafon have been suspected of inflating tariffs by Russian antimonopoly watchdog FAS. An investigation has been launched by FAS into the high mobile roaming prices charged by the operators.
The roaming tariffs of the big three exceeded the level set by the European Commission by three to six times while the international calls tariffs applied by the operator is more than double.
The competition regulator has also found that the prices are well above those charged by smaller operators such as Tele2
