Bailiffs authorize sale of Telenor stake
Russian Federal Bailiffs Service on Friday authorized the sale of most of Norwegian telecom company Telenor’s shares in VimpelCom.
Telenor owns 29,9 percent of VimpelCom which is Russia’s second biggest mobile phone operator. Telenor’s 15,3 million VimpelCom shares, or more than 25 percent of the company, were frozen by bailiffs in March as collateral against a USD 1,7 billion damages claim. Those damages were awarded by a Siberian court. Telenor claims the court is corrupt and acted illegally. Trading of Telenor’s stock was halted at the Oslo Stock Exchange shortly after the news from Moscow was announced. In the minutes before the trade was halted Telenor’s stock fell by more than 6 percent.
