Rostelecom to acquire 25% of Svyazinvest (Russia)
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Acquisition of 25% plus one share stake in the controlling stockholder, Svyazinvest, has been started by the giant Russian fixed line telephony provider, Rostelecom. Buying of stake in Svyazinvest from Moscow-based fixed line operator Comstar United TeleSystems has been agreed upon by Rostelecom with an investment of RUB26 billion (USD855 million).
51% of Rostelecom’s shares have been owned by a holding company for many national and large regional Russian telecoms assets, Svyazinvest. Federal Anti-Monopoly Service (FAS) has formally asked Rostelecom to approve the purchase; the state has endorsed the reorganization of Svyazinvest under the Rostelecom umbrella, to increase the holding company’s efficiency and reveal the true value of its assets.
Ratios for a planned stock swap between the subsidiary and eight regional fixed line operators have also been approved by the directors of Rostelecom last week.
Russian cellco MegaFon completes Synterra buyout
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.
Vimpelcom-Kyivstar merger approved by Russian regulator
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Vimpelcom and Ukrainian operator Kyivstar merger has been approved by Commission on Foreign Investments. The announcement has been made by head of Russia’s Federal Anti-Monopoly Service.
As per the deal, Alfa Group and Norwegian group Telenor will pool their holdings in the two firms to establish a new US-listed, Netherlands-based operator, Vimpelcom Ltd.
Integrated mobile services to consumers in Russia, Ukraine and other CIS countries, as well as Georgia, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos will be provided by the united company. Vimpelcom Ltd will seek to expand its operations in Europe, Asia and Africa after its establishment.
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.
Court upholds VimpelCom’s Ukraine phone purchase deal
A Moscow court upheld Thursday a decision by Russian cell phone company VimpelCom [RTS: VIMPG] to acquire a Ukrainian mobile operator.In a long-running dispute, the Moscow Arbitration Court upheld an appellate court’s ruling on rejecting an appeal by Norwegian telecom company Telenor to invalidate a decision by VimpelCom’s shareholders to approve the acquisition of Ukrainian Radio Systems, a leading cell phone operator in Ukraine.
VimpelCom, Russia’s second largest mobile phone operator, is majority owned by Telenor and Altimo, the telecoms arm of financial major Alfa Group, and is best known for the Beeline trademark, one of the most popular mobile operators in the country.
Telenor holds 26.6% of shares in VimpelCom, while Altimo (previously Alfa Telecom) holds a 32.9% stake. Telenor and Alfa Group filed applications with the Federal Anti-Monopoly Service in the summer of 2005 seeking to increase their stakes in VimpelCom.
The conflict between Telenor and Alfa Group first erupted over VimpelCom’s plans to enter the Ukrainian cell phone market. Alfa Group supported a VimpelCom deal to acquire Ukrainian Radio Systems for $231.3 million. Telenor came out against the deal, saying it was overpriced. The deal went through in the fall of 2005, and in January 2006 Telenor filed three lawsuits with the Moscow Arbitration Court against VimpelCom to challenge the deal.
In its first lawsuit, Telenor demanded the annulment of a decision by a VimpelCom shareholder meeting on September 14, 2005, to approve a deal to buy Ukrainian Radio Systems. The court rejected this suit on May 15 and Telenor said on June 21 it would appeal its ruling.
The second lawsuit was filed against VimpelCom, Russia’s first company listed on the New York Stock Exchange, five other companies registered in the British Virgin Islands and Cyprus, and an individual who Telenor claimed had sold the Ukrainian company. The Norwegian giant said the deal breached Russian legislation.
The third suit sought the annulment of a decision made by VimpelCom Director General Alexander Izosimov to close the deal without permission from the board of directors.
Source- rian
