The CEO of Russia’s number two wireless operator MegaFon has described spectrum-rich Scartel as a “very interesting asset” which his company is considering buying.
Ivan Tavrin told Bloomberg that any acquisition of the telco, which operates as…
The CEO of Russia’s number two wireless operator MegaFon has described spectrum-rich Scartel as a “very interesting asset” which his company is considering buying.
Ivan Tavrin told Bloomberg that any acquisition of the telco, which operates as Yota, would be dependant on terms.
Oligarch Alisher Usmanov owns a 50%+1 stake in MegaFon, and also 82% of Scartel, both through investment firm USM Holdings. MegaFon already uses Scartel’s LTE network to offer 4G services after agreeing a tie-up last year – the partnership means MegaFon has access to 50% of Russia’s LTE spectrum.
The mobile internet specialist has been reportedly valued at US$1bn. Ivan Streshinsky, the head of USM, has said it would sell Scartel to MegaFon for the same undisclosed price it bought the LTE provider for last year to avoid a conflict of interest that could arise from being invested in both telcos, according to the article.
An acquisition of this size would have to be approved by the London-listed operator’s owners, but USM itself may not be allowed to decide on a deal because of its investment on the sellside as well as on the buyside, Bloomberg reported. That would mean the responsibility may fall on to the next largest shareholder, Teliasonera, which holds just over 25%.
MegaFon has a 27% share of the Russian wireless market according to Q1 2013 figures from consultancy AC&M. Privately-held Yota has does not disclose subscriber numbers but its market share is not thought to be significant – its value lies in its spectrum licences.
