Russia’s ER Telecom has reportedly sought permission from the antitrust regulator to acquire Moscow-based triple-play operator Akado.
The Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) is set to consider ER Telecom’s bid within a month, Russia’s Prime…
Russia’s ER Telecom has reportedly sought permission from the antitrust regulator to acquire Moscow-based triple-play operator Akado.
The Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) is set to consider ER Telecom’s bid within a month, Russia’s Prime Business News Agency reported citing an unnamed official with the regulator.
While the official did not specify how much of Akado ER Telecom aims to acquire, the report cited another unnamed source familiar with the matter as saying it wants the whole company. According to this source, the price of the deal is yet to be disclosed.
An Akado spokesperson was unable to comment on the matter, saying he was aware only that ER Telecom had sought permission from FAS. ER Telecom and FAS were not immediately available for comment.
Moscow-based Akado is a joint stock company in which Viktor Vekselberg’s Renova Group has a 66% stake and Yury Pripachkin has a 33% stake.
In 2010, state-controlled Rostelecom was reportedly in talks to acquire Akado but a deal never eventuated because Svyazinvest, its state-controlled telecoms holding shareholder, decided the US$1.2bn valuation was too high.
The following year, Russia’s second-largest mobile operator MegaFon was reported to have looked into acquiring the company.
In May, Russian news agency Interfax quoted Vekselberg as saying he would consider a good offer for Akado but was in no hurry to sell.
Last month, a local newspaper cited an unidentified telecoms source as saying MTS, the nation’s largest mobile operator, was in talks to acquire Akado – a deal which would have given the operator a market share of close to 50% in Moscow.
Akado is a triple-play operator providing broadband, cable TV and telephony services.
ER Telecom, also a triple-play operator, is owned by PFIG Holding, Baring Vodtok Fund and the company’s top management. It claims to have more than five million subscribers across 56 cities.
