Russia’s Sistema is considering acquiring a stake in Latvian incumbent telco Lattelecom as part of plans to expand internationally.
A spokesperson for Sistema, controlled by Russian billionaire Vladimir Evtushenkov, said Lattelecom is one of multiple…
Russia’s Sistema is considering acquiring a stake in Latvian incumbent telco Lattelecom as part of plans to expand internationally.
A spokesperson for Sistema, controlled by Russian billionaire Vladimir Evtushenkov, said Lattelecom is one of multiple opportunities the company is looking at, adding that no decision has yet been made.
Latvian economy minister Daniels Pavults was quoted in the Baltic Times yesterday as saying he had received an expression of interest from Sistema for shares in Lattelecom. The state has a 51% stake in Lattelecom, while Sweden’s TeliaSonera owns the remaining shares.
Evtushenkov, founder of Russia’s largest mobile operator MTS, said in July that he was considering acquisition opportunities both in and outside Russia. He noted that Sistema, which owns 50.8% of MTS, was developing the operator as a company which makes value-accretive acquisitions.
In August, a Latvian government-appointed working group decided Lattelecom and mobile unit Latvian Mobile Telephone (LMT) did not need to be privatised, saying it was exploring other options for boosting their value. One option would see the companies combined, with the government retaining a controlling stake.
At present, TeliaSonera owns 60.3% of LMT, the state 39.7% and Lattelecom 23%. LMT is the nation’s largest mobile operator and competes with Tele2, Bite Latvia and Triatel.
At the time, a TeliaSonera spokesperson said the company might be interested in boosting its own stake in the Latvian businesses. He also noted that a merger of the two operators could create “interesting synergies”.
In 2008, Latvia rejected TeliaSonera’s offer to take over Lattelecom and LMT for LVL500m (US$951m as of today) on the grounds that it could damage competition.
