Moscow’s court of appeal has ruled against TeliaSonera and Altimo’s plan to merge their respective shareholdings in the Russian and Turkish mobile operators MegaFon and Turkcell, Reuters reports quoting local media.
Spokespersons of both Altimo and…
Moscow’s court of appeal has ruled against TeliaSonera and Altimo’s plan to merge their respective shareholdings in the Russian and Turkish mobile operators MegaFon and Turkcell, Reuters reports quoting local media.
Spokespersons of both Altimo and TeliaSonera said they were waiting to see the details of the court decision, but they were likely to appeal the ruling.
Last July a Moscow arbitration court blocked the planned merger after Telecominvest, MegaFon’s third shareholder, brought a lawsuit on the grounds that Russian law forbids state-owned foreign investors from controlling a strategic Russian company. Telecominvest, which is owned by Russian tycoon Alisher Usmanov, would be keen to take full control of MegaFon.
Last November, TeliaSonera and Alfa Group’s Altimo agreed to merge their shareholdings in Turkcell and MegaFon into a new entity. Altimo, which is controlled by Russian businessman Mikhail Fridman, holds a 25.1% stake in MegaFon and a 4.99% stake in Turkcell. TeliaSonera owns 43.8% and 37.3% in MegaFon and Turkcell respectively. Telecominvest holds the remaining 31.1% stake in MegaFon.
