KAZAN, Tatarstan, Russia-Two regional carriers from the Russian Muslim republic of Tatarstan on the Volga offered stock for public sale, forcing the biggest Russian carrier Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) to reconsider its plans to enter the local market where it currently lacks a license.
MTS was negotiating a purchase of the controlling interest of the TAIF-Telcom GSM 900/1800 MHz carrier, and the deal was close when the operator unexpectedly announced plans to tender stock.
TAIF-Telcom Board Chairman Albert Shigabutdinov said the U.S. shareholders of the company insisted on a public sale of the controlling interest. “Who knows, maybe we shall find a better investor at a tender,” he said.
The U.S. shareholders are NKS Trading, which indirectly owns a stake in the carrier.
MTS was likely to pay close to US$50 million for the controlling stake of the fifth-biggest carrier, but now TAIF-Telcom wants to double the price, as it estimated itself at US$200 million. Market experts, however, estimate the carrier with 150,000 clients at US$93 million.
“Tatarstan is clearly of interest for us. However, we shall not go there at any price. We shall look for any new possibility in the region,” said MTS spokesman Kirill Maslenitsyn.
The possibility appeared after local carrier Tatincom-T announced plans to auction 83 percent of its stock. Tatincom-T operates AMPS technology, but has a GSM 1800 MHz license for the region. It has 100,000 subscribers and is among the 20 biggest Russian carriers.
MTS’ major competitors, Vimpelcom and MegaFon, are already enjoying licenses in Tatarstan and are building out their networks in the republic.
