MOSCOW-The biggest Russian carrier Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) has reportedly reached a deal to acquire a controlling stake in Ukraine’s second-biggest operator Ukrainian Mobile Communications (UMC).
UMC shareholders include government-owned Ukrtelecom (51 percent), Deutsche Telekom, Danish TDC, and Dutch KPN, with 16.33 percent each.
The Vedomosti business newspaper reported that MTS reached a deal to purchase the stakes of Deutsche Telekom, TDC and KPN, as well as some stock of Ukrtelecom. Earlier UMC said it was poised to sell a 25-percent government-owned stake for a tentative price of US$100 million.
The report quoted UMC spokesman Andrei Guntar as confirming that MTS had bought part of UMC’s stock. Although later he denied making such a statement, the purchase was confirmed by the Real investment company, which mediated the deal. MTS refused comment, saying the purchase has not been finalized so far, while the Ukrainian anti-monopoly committee said it has not received an application from MTS, and therefore, had not issued permission for the deal.
UMC, which runs a GSM 900 MHz network and enjoys a GSM 1800 MHz license, has close to 1.5 million subscribers and is second only to Kyivstar with 1.6 million clients. However, UMC leads in income and accounts for 60 percent of proceeds of all Ukrainian carriers. The Russian Advanced Communications & Media (ACM) consultancy estimated its 2002 profit at US$380 million. Market experts estimate the total price of UMC at US$450 million to US$500 million.
Besides Ukraine, MTS’ interests in the Commonwealth of Independent States, which unites 12 former Soviet republics, include Belarus where it launched this year, as well as Moldova and Armenia.
The second-biggest Russian carrier Vimpelcom (BeeLine) is also eyeing Ukraine and is reportedly negotiating a purchase of Kyivstar. The Norwegian Telenor is a major shareholder of both carriers and holds a 45.42-percent stake in Kyivstar.
