The Russian anti-monopoly authority, the Commission for Foreign Investment, has rejected Altimo and TeliaSonera’s proposal to merge their respective stakes in the Russian and Turkish mobile operators MegaFon and Turkcell, according to Telegeography…
The Russian anti-monopoly authority, the Commission for Foreign Investment, has rejected Altimo and TeliaSonera’s proposal to merge their respective stakes in the Russian and Turkish mobile operators MegaFon and Turkcell, according to Telegeography quoting local media.
Altimo, which is controlled by Russian businessman Mikhail Fridman, holds a 25.1% stake in MegaFon and a 4.99% stake in Turkcell. TeliaSonera owns 43.8% and 37.3% in MegaFon and Turkcell, respectively. Telecominvest holds the remaining 31.1% stake in MegaFon.
The Russian and the Nordic companies signed an agreement to merge their shareholdings in November 2009, but Telecominvest took legal action to oppose the transaction, arguing the deal violated Russian rules on foreign investment. Last summer, Moscow’s court of appeal ruled against the merger.
The parties were not immediately available for comment.
