Offer comes amidst rising tensions between Moscow’s Alfa Group and Norwegian telecom giant Telenor
Russian mobile operator Vimpelcom announced Feb. 13 that it had made an offer to buy a 100 percent stake in Kyivstar GSM, one of Ukraine’s top two mobile operators, for $5 billion.
The offer comes amidst rising tensions between Moscow’s Alfa Group and Norwegian telecom giant Telenor, the later of which insists the bid can only be discussed after existing differences and concerns over corporate rights are settled. Alfa backed the bid.
Both Alfa and Telenor jointly control Vimpelcom and Kyivstar. Kyivstar is 56.5 percent owned by Telenor and 43.5 percent owned by Alfa subsidiary Altimo. Vimpelcom, Russia’s number two operator, is 32.9 percent owned by Alfa; Telenor has a 29.9 percent stake.
Alfa and Telenor have in recent months quarreled over management rights at Kyivstar and over Vimpelcom’s acquisition of a smaller Ukrainian operator, Ukrainian Radiosystems. Alfa backed the acquisition of URS, completed late last year. Telenor is challenging the purchase in court.
Telenor’s Executive Vice President Jan Edvard Thygesen said the Kyivstar acquisition would have to wait until differences with Alfa are settled.“Telenor is ready to work constructively with Altimo and all other shareholders, but insists that contractual obligations must be respected,” he said.
