The Russian Commission on Foreign Investment, chaired by prime minister Vladimir Putin, has approved the merger of Russian operator VimpelCom and Ukraine’s Kyivstar.
The transaction is expected to complete by mid-2010. Telenor will holds 38.8% of the new…
The Russian Commission on Foreign Investment, chaired by prime minister Vladimir Putin, has approved the merger of Russian operator VimpelCom and Ukraine’s Kyivstar.
The transaction is expected to complete by mid-2010. Telenor will holds 38.8% of the new entity, to be called VimpelCom Ltd, while Alfa Group will hold a 38.5% stake.
The merger should put an end to years of legal dispute between the two main shareholders, which started when Telenor refused to approve VimpelCom’s acquisition of Ukrainian mobile operator URS, which would compete with jointly owned operator Kyivstar.
However, with the VimpelCom-Kyivstar merger approved, Alfa Group may be forced to sell its stake in rival mobile operator MegaFon. The government is reportedly interested in buying MegaFon as part of the re-organisation of state-owned telecoms company Svyazinvest and is already in negotiations to buy Alisher Usmanov’s stake in MegaFon.
Alfa Group and TeliaSonera are trying to merge their joint telecoms shareholdings in MegaFon and Turkish mobile operator Turkcell.
