Belarus has reportedly started preparations to sell state-owned Beltelecom’s 51% stake in its joint venture with Russia’s Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) at a starting price of US$1bn.
The privatisation committee plans to host a series of presentations on…
Belarus has reportedly started preparations to sell state-owned Beltelecom’s 51% stake in its joint venture with Russia’s Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) at a starting price of US$1bn.
The privatisation committee plans to host a series of presentations on the auction in late October or early November and the auction itself before the end of the year, the Moscow Times reported with reference to Interfax.
MTS, which holds the remaining 49%, has reiterated its interest in acquiring Belarus’ share, the report stated, citing a company spokesperson.
Neither the committee nor MTS were immediately available for comment.
The committee planned to auction the state’s MTS Belarus stake in December last year, but called off the process in November, reportedly because it had not received any applications to participate. The starting price for that auction was also US$1bn. Vice premier Anatoly Kalinin reportedly said MTS offered to buy the stake, but the parties could not agree on price.
MTS Belarus claimed to have about five million subscribers as of 12 June, 2012. The operator posted revenues of US$86.6m for the second quarter, up 14% on the previous quarter. Its OIBDA margin was up 13% from the first quarter to US$40.3m (46.48%).
