Five-year long Telenor-Vimeplcom dispute over
Norway’s Telenor Group and Russian Altimo have announced an agreement which ends a five-year long dispute. The two groups will suspend all their ongoing legal proceedings and combine their common assets in VimpelCom and Kyivstar to create a new leading mobile operator.
The parties have reached an agreement to combine their holdings in OJSC VimpelCom and Kyivstar into a new jointly-owned mobile telecoms operator, VimpelCom Ltd, web site E24.no reports. The united company will provide high-quality integrated mobile telecom services in Russia, Ukraine and other CIS countries.
Telenor stocks rose 12.91 percent in just a few minutes after the announcement was made on Monday morning, Dagens Næringsliv writes.
The parties have agreed to and take action to withdraw or settle all ongoing disputes prior to the transaction being completed. The governance structure agreed for VimpelCom Ltd. is designed to significantly reduce the potential for new disputes between the shareholders.
Jon Fredrik Baksaas, President and CEO of Telenor Group, is relieved that the five-year long dispute is over:
-Telenor is proud to take part in creating one of the most competitive and important players in the world of mobile communication. VimpelCom Ltd. will have ample opportunities for future growth and value creation for the benefit of all shareholders. We have turned a five-year struggle into an exciting venture for the future, E24.no cites.
Alexei Reznikovich, CEO of Altimo, said:
-Today is a truly historic day for our companies. We witness the appearance of a new star in the global telecom space. We are confident that this merger will substantially increase shareholder value of the new company.
As BarentsObserver reported in June, the merger deal was proposed by the Russian side.
