Russian mobile operator Vimpelcom is looking to alter its US$6.6bn bid merger with Naguib Sawiris’ Orascom, after a no-vote by Vimpelcom shareholder Telenor, reports Reuters.
Sawiris, for his part, has told the Al-Arabiya TV network that he is willing to…
Russian mobile operator Vimpelcom is looking to alter its US$6.6bn bid merger with Naguib Sawiris’ Orascom, after a no-vote by Vimpelcom shareholder Telenor, reports Reuters.
Sawiris, for his part, has told the Al-Arabiya TV network that he is willing to negotiate on shareholder structure but not valuation when he meets with Vimpelcom CEO Alexander Izosimov. He was also cited saying that he was hoping to see a new offer sometime this week.
Unspecified analysts cited by the newswire reportedly said Telenor opposes Sawiris’ desire to up his voting rights and board representation to above the currently agreed 20%, without mentioning the elephant in the room – the uncertain future of Orascom’s most profitable subsidiary, Djezzy in Algeria.
Telenor and Russian telecoms investor Altimo have this year finally reached an accord over the governance of their shared asset, Vimpelcom, after a five-year struggle fought out in international courts.
TelecomFinance sources with knowledge of the discussions all had very different expectations of this week’s Vimpelcom shareholder vote, ranging from extreme confidence that a deal would be struck to an assumption that a deal would never be achieved. One even speculated that if a deal did get done, Telenor would exit Vimpelcom within 12 months.
Vimpelcom announced yesterday that six out of nine directors voted for the merger with Orascom, with Telenor’s directors voting against it, thus nixing the deal.
