Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Telenor planning to apply for right to go above 45% in Vimpelcom, source says
20/09/2005
Proprietary Intelligence
Story: Telenor is preparing to apply for the right to raise its stake in Russian mobile firm Vimpelcom to as much as 100%, said a source close to the situation. NYSE-listed Vimpelcom is currently owned 26.6% by Norway's Telenor and 32.9% by Russia’s Alfa Telecom, but the two companies have been vying for majority control over Vimpelcom for several months. Telenor applied to Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service in May to raise its interest in Vimpelcom to 45%, a move which Alfa followed just days later by applying to increase its stake to 60%.
However, Telenor’s intention is now to request antimonopoly approval to go over the 45% level to 60% and possibly to as high as 100%, the source said. Telenor’s Russia country manager Goran Olson earlier this month said only that the company would be ‘very patient’ in its bid to raise its Vimpelcom stake to 45%.
Telenor and Alfa have also been in conflict over Vimpelcom’s possible acquisition of Ukrainian RadioSystems. Alfa proposed the acquisition, but Telenor is against such a move, which it says would not be value-accretive. Analysts have speculated that the conflict between Telenor and Alfa will result in one party exiting Vimpelcom. With Alfa seen more as a financial than a strategic investor, observers see Alfa as being the more likely party to exit.
Source: mergermarket
Value: $32,000m (vimpelcom mkt cap)
Proprietary Intelligence
Story: Telenor is preparing to apply for the right to raise its stake in Russian mobile firm Vimpelcom to as much as 100%, said a source close to the situation. NYSE-listed Vimpelcom is currently owned 26.6% by Norway's Telenor and 32.9% by Russia’s Alfa Telecom, but the two companies have been vying for majority control over Vimpelcom for several months. Telenor applied to Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service in May to raise its interest in Vimpelcom to 45%, a move which Alfa followed just days later by applying to increase its stake to 60%.
However, Telenor’s intention is now to request antimonopoly approval to go over the 45% level to 60% and possibly to as high as 100%, the source said. Telenor’s Russia country manager Goran Olson earlier this month said only that the company would be ‘very patient’ in its bid to raise its Vimpelcom stake to 45%.
Telenor and Alfa have also been in conflict over Vimpelcom’s possible acquisition of Ukrainian RadioSystems. Alfa proposed the acquisition, but Telenor is against such a move, which it says would not be value-accretive. Analysts have speculated that the conflict between Telenor and Alfa will result in one party exiting Vimpelcom. With Alfa seen more as a financial than a strategic investor, observers see Alfa as being the more likely party to exit.
Source: mergermarket
Value: $32,000m (vimpelcom mkt cap)
