Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) is set to present a proposal to settle its legal claim against Telenor’s February stake increase in VimpelCom to the Russian government commission on foreign investments tomorrow. The commission is chaired…
Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) is set to present a proposal to settle its legal claim against Telenor’s February stake increase in VimpelCom to the Russian government commission on foreign investments tomorrow. The commission is chaired by the prime minister of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev.
FAS head Igor Artemyev has told reporters that, if the commission accepts the proposal, all legal proceedings in connection with matter will be dropped.
The regulator, which filed a court claim against the stake hike in April alleging it contravened foreign ownership laws, is widely expected to drop the case now that Russian investment firm Altimo has usurped Telenor as VimpelCom’s largest shareholder.
Altimo, part of Russian businessman Mikhail Fridman’s Alfa Group, disclosed in late October that it had agreed to acquire Ukrainian investor Viktor Pinchuk’s stake in VimpelCom for US$217.5m, boosting its own stake from 41.85% to 48.85%. At the time, an Altimo spokesperson said the firm is now happy with VimpelCom’s “ownership balance”.
Telenor, which has since indicated it is open to selling its 43% stake in the Amsterdam-listed mobile operator, has said it expects the FAS to drop its lawsuit, describing it as “groundless”.
A Telenor spokesperson said today that the company has not seen the FAS proposal.
An FAS spokesperson declined to provide further comment, saying the matter is now in the hands of the commission on foreign investment.
The case in the Moscow Arbitration Court is scheduled to begin on 27 November.
