Ukraine's Antimonopoly Committee has cleared the way for a Cypriot firm to purchase a stake in Storm, a Ukrainian company with a major interest in Kyivstar GSM.
h a major interest in Kyivstar GSM.
If the deal goes through, it could enable Storm to increase its current 32.39 percent stake in Kyivstar, a closed joint stock company and one of Ukraine’s largest mobile phone operators.
The government granted Cyprus-registered Eurokvest Ltd. permission to acquire 33 percent or more of Storm’s shares, a Kyivstar GSM statement read.
A statement issued by the antimonopoly committee said Eurokvest’s acquisition of Storm shares would not create a monopoly or limit competition in the cellular communications market. The committee’s statement described Eurokvest as a consulting and investment firm. Storm was described as a diversified investment, trading and leasing company.
Neither Kyivstar GSM nor Storm would reveal much about the deal, but Norway’s Telenor, itself holder of a 45.42 percent stake in Kyivstar, did.
“We are aware that Storm considers increasing its stake in Kyivstar and we have no problem with this. We welcome this development,” Hallvard Austlid, Telenor’s Country Manager, told the Post.
Other firms with an interest in Kyivstar include Omega, which holds 5.69 percent and Sputnik, a U.S. investment fund, with a 16.5 percent share of the company.
Kyivstar GSM spokesperson Ihor Mykhailenko said he believed that Eurokvest would invest in Kyivstar using its interest in Storm as a conduit.
“This deal makes an infusion of capital possible,” he said.
Mykhailenko said two Cypriot shareholders own Eurokvest.
“We can’t provide any additional information,” Mykhailenko said.
The chairman of Kyivstar’s supervisory board is Yury Tumanov, who also represents Storm.
Telenor’s Austild said his company has invested $85 million into the development of Kyivstar. That’s a considerable part of the total $240 million volume of investments attracted by Kyivstar between 1997 and 2001.
Kyivstar was formally established in 1994 and launched mobile telephone services in 1997.
Kyivstar, which said it signed up its millionth subscriber this month, says it plans to have 2 million customers by the end of 2002, 400,000 more than earlier projected.
Kyivstar and Ukrainian Mobile Communications, which is largely state-owned, are the nation’s two mobile phone heavyweights. UMC also claims to have about 1 million subscribers and aggressive growth plans. Ukraine’s other mobile operators include Golden Telecom, Wellcom and DCC, each of which have fewer than 50,000 subscribers.
