Firm says large Russian telecommunications company was not close to snapping up majority share
Ukrainian Mobile Communications officials have denied a report in the Russian press that a large large Russian mobile telecommunications firm was close to becoming the majority shareholder in UMC.
Russia’s Vedomosti business daily claimed Sept. 30 that MTS, a prominent mobile operator, had reached an agreement with UMC’s foreign shareholders to acquire their stakes. The article quoted UMC spokesman Andry Hunder as confirming the deal.
Deutsche Telekom, Denmark’s TDC and the Netherlands’ KPN together hold 49 percent of UMC’s shares. The Vedomosti article also claimed that MTS was about to gain control of UMC by acquiring a small stake from the state‑owned fixed‑line telecom monopoly, Ukrtelecom, which holds a 51 percent stake in UMC.
No other details were provided.
UMC’s Hunder, however, denied the report and the fact he commented on the matter to the newspaper.
“I didn’t give any comments and couldn’t provide any details on the deal,” he told the Post.
