Zebra to Be Repainted in Rostelecom Colors
Rostelecom announced yesterday the takeover of his former competitor - the IP-telephony operator Zebra Telecom. For $13.5 million, Rostelecom reps said, they acquired a subscriber base of calling card users and a dealer network to sell telecommunication services. Along with Zebra, the experts speculate, Rostelecom got the chance to sell services in Moscow at tariff rates not governed by the government.
Rostelecom has bought out 99.99 percent in Zebra Telecom from Cyprus offshore Starford Ltd. for $13.5 million. The purchase of Zebra, said Rostelecom GD Dmitry Yerokhin, will help the operator strengthen its standing on the market of long-distance traffic and enable it to offer new services to subscribers.
Zebra Telecom was set up in 2001. The base of active subscribers is roughly 200,000, according to the company’s estimate. 2005 sales fetched $23 million; IP-telephony accounts for 65 percent of the revenues, and Internet dial-up covers 35 percent. The operator controls between 15 percent and 20 percent of the calling card market in Moscow and St. Petersburg.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of June 15, 2006
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