Telenor raises stake in Russia’s VimpelCom to 36% for $374 mln

MOSCOW, Feb 16 (PRIME) -- Norwegian telecommunications company Telenor increased its voting share in Netherlands-based VimpelCom Ltd., owner of major Russian mobile operator VimpelCom, to 36.36% from 25.01% for U.S. $374.4 million, Telenor said in a press release late Wednesday.

Telenor bought 234,000,000 preferred shares of VimpelCom Ltd. from Egyptian tycoon Naguib Sawiris’ Weather Investments.

In connection with the deal, Telenor has also withdrawn all its claims against units of Altimo, the telecommunications arm of Russian financial and industrial conglomerate Alfa Group, namely, Altimo Holdings & Investments Ltd., Altimo Cooperatief U.A., and VimpelCom Ltd. itself.

As a result of the withdrawal, the shareholders agreement with VimpelCom has been terminated, while Telenor plans to expand VimpelCom’s board of directors to 11 members from nine members currently.

Telenor and Weather have agreed on put and call options regarding the remaining 71 million VimpelCom preferred shares owned by Weather.

After the deal, Weather holds 18.28% of voting shares in VimpelCom, while stakes of Altimo, Bertofan, and minority shareholders remained unchanged at 25.00%, 5.99%, and 14.37%, respectively.

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