Court Adjourns Telenor Claim Against VimpelCom's URS Buy
MOSCOW, May 25 (Prime-Tass) -- The Moscow Arbitration Court adjourned indefinitely on Wednesday the main hearings of a lawsuit filed by Norwegian telecommunication company Telenor seeking to void VimpelCom's purchase of mobile operator Ukrainian Radiosystems (URS).
Telenor is challenging the decision of VimpelCom's CEO Alexander Izosimov to purchase URS, claiming that it was made without the approval of the board of directors.
A representative of Telenor said Wednesday that the company received a letter from VimpelCom in September 2005, containing information on the decision to make the acquisition.
VimpelCom's representatives said that it is not clear, which document Telenor is challenging, as the CEO did not actually make a decision on the purchase. The letter Telenor refers to contained information that he was going to complete the deal following the decision of VimpelCom?s EGM, they said.
VimpelCom purchased URS in November 2005 for U.S. $231 million. At the EGM, held on September 14, 2005, VimpelCom's shareholders approved the purchase of URS by a simple majority of votes.
Telenor holds 26.6% in VimpelCom, while Russia's Alfa Group indirectly owns 32.9%.
Telenor filed the lawsuit, as well as two more, on January 26.
One lawsuit, which sought to find the EGM void, was rejected by the court on May 15. The other lawsuit, which is against VimpelCom, five British Virgin Island and Cypriot companies, and one individual, that Telenor believes were the sellers of URS, is expected to be heard by the court on August 1.
Telenor opposed the purchase of URS saying that the price was too high. The subscriber base of URS amounted to 260,000 people as of January 1.
It is widely believed Telenor was against the deal as the purchase may create a competitor to Kyivstar, another Ukrainian mobile operator. Telenor holds 56.5% in Kyivstar, while Alfa Group holds 43.5%.
VimpelCom's management, Telenor and Altimo, a subsidiary of Alfa Group, have been discussing the opportunity of VimpelCom's purchase of Kyivstar, but no agreement has been reached yet.
VimpelCom provides telecommunications services in Russia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.
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Posted to the site on 25th May 2006