Belarus has re-launched the sale of its 51% stake in mobile operator MTS Belarus.
The State Property Committee (SPC) and state-owned incumbent telco Beltelecom, via which Belarus owns its stake in MTS Belarus, hosted a presentation in Minsk yesterday…
Belarus has re-launched the sale of its 51% stake in mobile operator MTS Belarus.
The State Property Committee (SPC) and state-owned incumbent telco Beltelecom, via which Belarus owns its stake in MTS Belarus, hosted a presentation in Minsk yesterday on the proposed sale.
The committee said in a statement that the presentation is expected to serve “as a platform for preliminary talks on a potential deal”.
SPC first deputy chairman Sergei Pyatkov told reporters the starting price for the state’s stake in the joint venture with Russian mobile giant MTS is still US$1bn.
Pyatkov said “some” companies have shown interest in the stake but there have not yet been any concrete proposals and the committee is not in talks with any potential buyers. However, he reiterated he is confident a buyer will be found.
Pyatkov explained that Belarusian law allows for the shares to be sold via auction or direct sale. The sale process will be determined by the number of bidders and the terms of their offers, he added.
In its statement today, SPC said it has been searching for a potential buyer of the 51% stake since 2011.
An official sales process was launched toward the end of 2012 and, in late June this year, communications minister Nikolai Pantelei was quoted in Russian media as saying the government was not in talks with anyone about the sale and had no intention of reducing the price.
In November 2012, local media quoted Prime Minister Mikhail Myasnikovich as saying the government had offered the stake to Kazakh companies, but they turned it down, saying the price was too high.
MTS, which owns the remaining 49% stake, has previously said it would be interested in buying the stake and thereby gaining full control of the company, but not at the US$1bn asking price.
SPC chairman Georgy Kuznetsov acknowledged in June this year that the price tag had been controversial but defended it by saying the government arrived at the valuation in the “good years” prior to the financial crisis. Noting that the price was said to have dropped to about US$700m during the crisis, he said the company’s earnings are now rising. “I think it will cost US$1bn once again in a year,” he reportedly said at the time.
