Russia’s MegaFon has named former UK treasury minister Lord Paul Myners as a new independent board director as it prepares to list on the London Stock Exchange later this month.
Before becoming a treasury minister in Gordon Brown’s Labour…
Russia’s MegaFon has named former UK treasury minister Lord Paul Myners as a new independent board director as it prepares to list on the London Stock Exchange later this month.
Before becoming a treasury minister in Gordon Brown’s Labour government, Myners was a member of the Court of the Bank of England. He has also served as CEO of Gartmore Group, chairman of Land Securities and Marks & Spencer and director of O2 and Orange.
Commenting on the appointment – to take effect following a formal nomination process and shareholder approval – MegaFon CEO Ivan Tavin described Myners’ experience in managing and chairing public companies as “immensely valuable” for the company.
“With the appointment of Lord Myners, MegaFon will have a balanced board structure with two independent non-executive directors, two directors nominated by TeliaSonera and three directors nominated by AF Telecom, which puts in place a strong corporate governance structure.”
The UK Listing Authority (UKLA) recently approved the listing – taking several weeks longer than expected to reach a decision. Last week, MegaFon set the indicative price range for the IPO at US$20 to US$25 per share, meaning sellers TeliaSonera and MegaFon Investments (MICL) expect to raise at least US$1.69bn and up to US$2.3bn from the listing of up to 20% of shares in London.
Observers have speculated that the mobile operator is striving to allay investors’ concerns ahead of the planned IPO following Goldman Sachs’ sudden withdrawal as a financial advisor, reportedly motivated by corporate governance concerns alongside criticisms of Usmanov’s plans for the company.
