Russia’s Rostelecom has completed its takeover of mobile operator Sky Link, with subsidiary Mobitel acquiring a 50% stake from state-controlled holding company Svyazinvest in exchange for 1.91% of Rostelecom’s ordinary shares valued at Rbs9.4bn…
Russia’s Rostelecom has completed its takeover of mobile operator Sky Link, with subsidiary Mobitel acquiring a 50% stake from state-controlled holding company Svyazinvest in exchange for 1.91% of Rostelecom’s ordinary shares valued at Rbs9.4bn (US$291m).
The deal, part of the Rostelecom-Svyazinvest merger process, means Mobitel now effectively owns 100% of Sky Link, Rostelecom announced today.
It also means Svyazinvest will increase its stake in Rostelecom to 45.3% and Mobitel will own 4.64% of Rostelecom ordinary shares and 12.6% of preference shares. Mobitel may use these shares for strategic M&A deals or they could be cancelled, Rostelecom said.
Rostelecom CEO Alexander Provotorov described Sky Link, which owns licences in 76 Russian regions covering more than 90% of the total population, as “the last asset available in the market that could offer such extensive network coverage and unique frequencies”.
Provotorov described the transaction as an “important landmark” in the company’s merger with Svyazinvest, the subject of a presidential decree earlier this year.
“The aim of this process is to eliminate any cross-ownership between the two companies, to simplify our shareholder structure and help attract interest from a broader range of investors,” he said.
A 3G operator, Sky Link’s licences entitle it to provide CDMA-450 and UMTS-1900/2100 services in 65 regions, CDMA-450/2000 in three regions, GSM-1800 in 45 regions and GSM-900 in one region.
Ernst & Young conducted an independent valuation of Sky link shares, while Avers Group independently valued Rostelecom’s ordinary shares, today’s statement noted.
