Norwegian incumbent Telenor and Alfa Group’s Altimo will maintain their shareholders’ agreement with regards to their investments in Russian telco Vimpelcom until they receive a decision from an arbitration tribunal.
The announcement was made in a…
Norwegian incumbent Telenor and Alfa Group’s Altimo will maintain their shareholders’ agreement with regards to their investments in Russian telco Vimpelcom until they receive a decision from an arbitration tribunal.
The announcement was made in a Vimpelcom SEC filing, which states: “The Tribunal’s determination of whether the Shareholders Agreement terminates on 10 December 2011 is suspended until such time as the Tribunal issues its final determination on the merits.”
This point had been agreed by all the parties.
Altimo decided in June to reduce its stake in Vimpelcom to under 25%.
As a result of this reduction, the shareholders agreement had been scheduled to terminate on 10 December.
According to a Reuters report, Altimo had wanted to give Egyptian businessman Naguib Sawiris seats on the Vimpelcom board. This reportedly contradicted the agreement with Telenor.
Telenor had turned to the arbitration tribunal in early November, seeking to uphold the shareholders agreement.
The Norwegian incumbent had said initially that it expected a decision by the arbitration tribunal before the 10 December deadline.
