The government of Belarus is actively seeking buyers for state-owned Beltelecom’s 51% stake in its mobile joint venture with Russia’s Mobile TeleSystems (MTS), setting dates for investor information sessions ahead of a planned auction.
The state…
The government of Belarus is actively seeking buyers for state-owned Beltelecom’s 51% stake in its mobile joint venture with Russia’s Mobile TeleSystems (MTS), setting dates for investor information sessions ahead of a planned auction.
The state property committee has posted a sale notice on its website, calling for bids of at least US$1bn for the majority stake in the JV, called COOO MTS.
The government plans to hold a presentation to potential investors on 2 November and also provide information on the planned sale at the Belarusian Investment Forum on 15 and 16 November, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Communications.
The statement did not include a date for the auction, which is reportedly yet to be finalised, but said the stake will go to the highest bidder.
Last month, a spokesperson for MTS, which holds the remaining 49% stake, reiterated that the company is interested in taking full control of the company, but not at the price the government hoped to command last year. A company spokesperson today declined to comment further.
Belarus had attempted to sell its Beltelecom stake in 2011 already, but the government called off the planned auction in November, reportedly because it had not received any applications to participate. The starting price for that auction was also US$1bn.
Registered in 2002, 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%).
