Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) might soon withdraw its court claim against Norwegian telco Telenor concerning its shareholding in VimpelCom and sign a settlement agreement.
FAS head Igor Artemyev told reporters at a recent press…
Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) might soon withdraw its court claim against Norwegian telco Telenor concerning its shareholding in VimpelCom and sign a settlement agreement.
FAS head Igor Artemyev told reporters at a recent press conference that a resolution could be arrived at within a couple of weeks. He stressed that the dispute between VimpelCom’s two largest shareholders – Telenor and Altimo, the telecoms investment arm of Russian businessman Mikhail Fridman’s Alfa Group – needs to end before 1 October, when an option entitling Telenor to buy additional shares from Egyptian businessman Naguib Sawiris’ Weather Investments II expires.
Artemyev said the authority is confident of reaching a compromise with Telenor and has proposed recommendations for ending the dispute. The FAS is currently awaiting a final response from the Norwegian company to its recommendations, he added, saying that if all goes well, the parties will conclude a settlement agreement and the FAS will drop its claim.
The FAS filed its claim with the Moscow Arbitration Court after Telenor bought 234 million VimpelCom shares from Weather Investments II for US$374.4m in February, contending that it violated laws on foreign ownership.
In mid-August, Telenor and Altimo increased their stakes in VimpelCom to similar amounts, suggesting the dispute might be drawing to a close. However, both parties have since argued that the other holds a slightly larger stake via indirect investments. Currently, Altimo owns a 40.5% voting shareholding in VimpelCom, while Telenor has a 39.5% shareholding. Weather Investments II has a 3.5% stake.
