Belarus has rejected a US$400m-US$500m offer from Russia’s Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) to buy its majority stake in MTS Belarus and take full control of the company.
State Property Committee chairman Georgy Kuznetsov said the government was not prepared…
Belarus has rejected a US$400m-US$500m offer from Russia’s Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) to buy its majority stake in MTS Belarus and take full control of the company.
State Property Committee chairman Georgy Kuznetsov said the government was not prepared to accept the offer because it was way below the US$863m asking price, the Belarusian Telegraph Agency (Belta) reported.
The committee has been trying to sell the state’s 51% stake in the Minsk-based telco since 2011 and refused to budge on the initial US$1bn asking price, based on a 2010 market valuation until last December, when a new valuation prompted it to drop the price.
Moscow-based MTS, which owns the remaining 49% stake, has previously said it would be interested in buying the state’s stake and thereby gaining full control of the company, but would not pay US$1bn.
The state called off the last sales attempt early this month, declaring it invalid due to a lack of bids.
Kuznetsov was quoted as saying there were “many calls” from potential buyers, but none turned up to the actual tender.
Last week, Belta quoted Belarus’ vice premier Anatoly Kalinin as saying the government might lower the asking price “a notch”, adding that the search for a buyer will continue.
Any news sales process will need the authorisation of Belarus’ president. The state’s stake in MTS Belarus is managed by incumbent Beltelecom.
The last sales process required the eventual buyer to maintain MTS Belarus’ mobile penetration rate in the last fiscal period.
