Report: VEON tried to sell VimpelCom to Rostelecom in 2018

MOSCOW, Feb 25 (PRIME) -- Amsterdam-based holding VEON held negotiations in 2018 with Russian state-controlled telecom operator Rostelecom on the sale of its local mobile operator VimpelCom, working under the Beeline brand, but the talks failed, Bloomberg reported late on February 22, quoting sources familiar with the situation.

A VEON spokesperson told PRIME that the holding does not comment on market rumors. Rostelecom declined to comment.

A Sova Capital analyst valued VimpelCom at U.S. $6.8–8.5 billion, while the market value of the holding could stand at $4.25 billion.

Bloomberg said that VimpelCom’s sale would comply with VEON’s strategy to stay only on the markets where it is the largest or the second largest operator. In Russia, VimpelCom is third largest after MTS and MegaFon.

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