Russia’s Rostelecom is considering selling shares to the state-backed Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF).
A spokesperson for the state-controlled telco told TelecomFinance that the company is exploring several opportunities concerning its treasury…
Russia’s Rostelecom is considering selling shares to the state-backed Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF).
A spokesperson for the state-controlled telco told TelecomFinance that the company is exploring several opportunities concerning its treasury shares, which include selling a stake to RDIF.
However, the spokesperson declined to comment on a Reuters report which quoted another company spokesperson, Kira Kuryukhina, as saying RDIF would form part of a pool of investors that would buy Rostelecom treasury shares ahead of its planned privatisation. Kiryukhina did not provide additional information, saying the deal has yet to be finalised.
An RDIF spokesperson also declined to comment on the report.
Meanwhile, Russian business daily Vedomosti reported that RDIF and Deutsche Bank would together buy a stake in Rostelecom worth US$250m. Deutsche Bank has declined to comment.
Rostelecom owns about 5% of its own ordinary shares and about 13% of preferred shares. In late May, CEO Sergey Kalugin said the company was considering selling more than US$500m of treasury stock to cut debt. Kalugin noted that direct investment funds had shown interest in the shares, but did not identify which ones.
The Russian government has included Rostelecom on a list of assets to be privatised within the next few years. Speculation on when exactly this may occur continues.
The government set up the US$10bn RDIF in 2011 under the leadership of the president and the prime minister. A 100% subsidiary of state development bank Vnesheconombank (VEB), the fund is managed by a team of private equity investors.
The government holds a 55.17% stake in Rostelecom via telecoms holding Svyazinvest, with which the telco is being merged, the Federal State Property Management Agency (FSPMA) and VEB.
