PRESS: VEON rumoured mulls sale of Russian business VimpelCom

MOSCOW, Oct 13 (PRIME) -- Russian mobile operator VimpelCom, working under the Beeline brand, which is now almost fully owned by Amsterdam-based VEON, may become a company with an entirely local capital, daily Izvestiya reported on Thursday citing three sources close to the operator and its partners.

These are just plans of the shareholders, one of the sources said.

“We regularly estimate our portfolio and look for options of investment and sale that can create value for VEON’s shareholders,” a holding spokesperson told the daily.

“Our attention is focused on the markets with a strong potential of macroeconomic growth where our products in the industry of connection have good chances. We cannot speculate about our plans regarding any of our portfolio firms,” the spokesperson added.

According to VEON, its Russian business accounted for more than a half of its total revenue, or slightly above U.S. $1 billion.

The holding’s market capitalization amounts to $1 billion. Evidently, more than a half of this sum is presented by VimpelCom, Raiffeisenbank analyst Sergei Libin said.

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