Russia’s Federal Arbitration Court has confirmed a lower court’s decision to oppose TeliaSonera and Altimo’s plan to merge their shareholdings in mobile operator MegaFon.
A spokesperson at Altimo said the company and TeliaSonera intended to appeal the…
Russia’s Federal Arbitration Court has confirmed a lower court’s decision to oppose TeliaSonera and Altimo’s plan to merge their shareholdings in mobile operator MegaFon.
A spokesperson at Altimo said the company and TeliaSonera intended to appeal the ruling with the High Arbitration Court.
TeliaSonera and Altimo have been seeking to merge their stakes in MegaFon and Turkish mobile operator Turkcell into a new company set outside Russia since November 2009 but Telecominvest, MegaFon’s third shareholder, filed a lawsuit on the grounds that Russian law forbids state-owned foreign investors from controlling a strategic Russian company. Court rulings have so far rejected the merger.
Telecominvest, which is owned by Russian tycoon Alisher Usmanov, said in the past that it would be keen to take full control of MegaFon.
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.
TeliaSonera was not immediately available for comments.
