Russia’s third-largest mobile operator VimpelCom has named Andrew Davies, currently Vodafone’s designated finance representative at the US’ largest mobile operator Verizon Wireless, as its new group CFO.
Davies, Verizon Wireless’ CFO until June this…
Russia’s third-largest mobile operator VimpelCom has named Andrew Davies, currently Vodafone’s designated finance representative at the US’ largest mobile operator Verizon Wireless, as its new group CFO.
Davies, Verizon Wireless’ CFO until June this year, will start his new role by 1 January 2014 at the latest, once he has concluded his responsibilities at the US carrier. He succeeds Henk van Dalen, who will act as interim CFO after his current contract ends on 31 August.
VimpelCom noted in a statement today that Davies held a number of senior financial roles within the Vodafone group from 2003 before becoming CFO of Verizon Wireless, a JV between Vodafone and Verizon, in 2010.
He served as CFO of Vodafone’s Indian and Turkish units and held posts within the UK and Japanese businesses.
Commenting on Davies’ appointment, VimpelCom CEO Jo Lunder said: “His stature, knowledge and wide experience of our sector in many differing markets will be a substantial asset to the group as we develop the business and execute on our strategy.”
VimpelCom also said in a release on its Q2 2013 results that the supervisory board has extended Lunder’s contract to April 2016 to secure his leadership of the company and deliver on the 2013-2015 value agenda.
VimpelCom to transfer listing to Nasdaq
The Russian company also announced that its supervisory board has approved the transfer of its ADRs to the Nasdaq Global Select Market, saying it expects to commence trading on 10 September. The company will concurrently delist its shares from the NYSE Euronext, which it first listed on in 1996.
“The company believes the transfer to Nasdaq will provide VimpelCom shareholders with strong execution and liquidity, while offering the company an expanded and cost-effective set of listing and corporate services,” the company stated.
The supervisory board has scheduled a special general meeting of shareholders for 25 September to approve amendments to company bylaws needed for the transfer.
VimpelCom, whose two largest shareholders are oligarch Mikhail Fridman’s Altimo and Norwegian telco Telenor, today reported revenues for the second quarter of US$5.7bn, representing organic growth of 1% year-on-year. EBITDA was down 1% to US$2.4bn, while the EBITDA margin stood at 42.4%.
Meanwhile the operator has confirmed it is considering a disposal of its stake in Wind Canada, which has been strongly linked with a sale to Verizon Communications in the local press.
VimpelCom had sought to take over Wind but ran into regulatory difficulties in June. Today it said that the “process of establishing the final strategic position for the Canadian investment is ongoing, including the possibility of disposing of the business”.
