Golden VimpelCom
Rostelecom announced yesterday its readiness to sell 11 percent in Golden Telecom (GT) to VimpelCom. Therefore, VimpelCom’s offer to the GT holders could be deemed accepted – the deal required the approval of holders owning 63.3 percent in the company, but the holders of 63.8 percent have agreed to it already. The united giant will be Russia’s biggest telecom holding.
Rostelecom BOD sanctioned February 12 the disposal of 11 percent in GT to VimpelCom. Other holders had already agreed to sell their stocks. Amid them are Altimo that manages telecom assets of Alfa Group (owner of 26.6 percent in GT), Norwegian Telenor (18.3 percent) and Inure owners (7.9 percent), Alexander Mamut and Viktor Vekselberg.
So, the first stage of the deal has been successfully passed. VimpelCom won the consent of owners of 63.8 percent in GT, and under the agreement of GT holders, the deal would be deemed clinched should the sales offer be taken by holders of at least 63.3 percent in the company.
Holders of minor stakes, Kleinheinz Capital Partners (1.3 percent), for instance, will have to sell their ownership to VimpelCom. For this purpose, it will call a general meeting and propose to vote for consolidation, said Konstantin Belov from Uralsib, explaining that under the laws of Delaware, where the parties to the deal have been incorporated, the merger will be approved, as the majority of minor holders agreed to accept it.
As of 10:19 p.m., MSK, Wednesday, VimpelCom surged 0.65 percent to $36.91 per ADR (capitalization of $37.45 billion) on NYSE, while GT climbed 0.53 percent to $103.9 ($4.19 billion) on NASDAQ. The united company will be comparable to such global player as Telecom Italia, becoming the leading telecom holding in Russia. The NYSE capitalization of its rival MTS was just $32.69 billion.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Feb. 14, 2008
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