http://af.reuters.com/article/egyptMarketNews/idAFLDE71N04F20110224
Thu Feb 24, 2011 6:52am GMT
(Repeats to additional subscribers with no change to text)
MOSCOW Feb 24 (Reuters) - Vimpelcom (VIP.N) sees a high chance that its deal to buy the telecoms assets of Egyptian tycoon Naguib Sawiris will go ahead despite opposition from key shareholder Telenor (TEL.OL), its CEO was quoted as saying.
"I think the chances (of a deal) are high," Alexander Izosimov told Russia's Kommersant business daily in an interview published on Thursday.
He added that he was still hopeful that Vimpelcom may secure control of prized Algerian telecoms assets under the deal.
Norwegian group Telenor is pursuing a court injunction which could derail Vimpelcom's planned $6 billion plus purchase of Sawiris's Wind Telecom, with a court hearing due on Feb. 25.
Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman's Alfa-Group, the other main owner of Vimpelcom, backs the deal, which would make the Russian operator one of the world's biggest by giving it control of Egyptian group Orascom Telecom (ORTE.CA) and Wind Italy. <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
SCENARIOS on Vimpelcom-Sawiris deal [ID:nLDE70H0O8] ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
If Telenor wins the arbitration tribunal ruling, it would have the right to take the escrow shares and pay Vimpelcom a sum Telenor has said was about 15 billion crowns ($2.6 billion) but which Izosimov reckons is higher.
"According to the estimates of our lawyers, the cost of these shares for Telenor should be $3.3 billion," he said.
One potential problem with the deal is that Algeria is seeking to nationalise Orascom's crown jewel Djezzy.
Izosimov said there had been no progress on that since early October, but struck a hopeful note.
"We are getting signals that after there is clarity on the deal, dialogue could resume," he said.
"So it is far too premature to say now that the Algerian operator is excluded from the deal." (Writing by Toni Vorobyova; Editing by Hans Peters)
http://en.rian.ru/business/20110224/162737502.html
VimpelCom, one of Russia's top three mobile operators, will not make any more foreign mergers or acquisitions if the deal with Italy's Wind Telecom goes through, VimpelCom head Alexander Izosimov said in an interview with Kommersant business daily on Thursday.
"If the deal (with Wind Telecom) takes place, we will quit the international merger and acquisition market," Izosimov said, without ruling out domestic M&A deals.
"Usually, domestic deals consolidate the market, synergy effects are undisputable, and everyone understands this. If there appears a possibility for market consolidation, we will keep a watchful eye on it," Izosimov was quoted as saying.
In early October 2010, VimpelCom signed a deal with Wind Telecom, owned by Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris and formerly known as Weather Investments, to create the world's fifth largest telecommunications operator by subscribers. VimpelCom shareholders are expected to vote on the deal on March 17.
The transaction may be delayed however, because Norway's Telenor, a key shareholder in VimpleCom with a 36% stake, has said it will vote against the deal, arguing that the merger scheme through a new share issue by VimpleCom in favor of Wind Telecom violates its pre-emptive rights.
Telenor has already filed a suit with the Commercial Court in London to block the deal.
If the London Court, which will consider Telenor's suit on February 25, upholds the claim, the court's injunction will adversely affect shareholders' opinions of the deal, Izosimov said.
VimpelCom's CEO said, however, he hoped the deal would go through.
"The company is making the purchase at the right time and at the proper price and can within a short period of time create a value for shareholders," he said.
MOSCOW, February 24 (RIA Novosti)
For the Record
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/for-the-record/431549.html
24 February 2011
Yelena Baturina is in talks to buy Lithuania-based retailer Maxima Group, the biggest Baltic retail chain with 437 shops in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Bulgaria, Telegraf.lv reported Tuesday.
(Bloomberg)
Sugar plants are halting refining as some suppliers suspended raw-sugar deliveries on expectations the import duty will be cut in March to $50 from $140 a metric ton, the country's Sugar Producers' Union said Wednesday, adding that three refineries continue to operate.
(Bloomberg)
VEB to Set Up Far East Investment Fund
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/veb-to-set-up-far-east-investment-fund/431518.html
24 February 2011
By Irina Filatova
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has given state development bank Vneshekonombank until May to set up a fund that would finance investment in the remote Far East region, saying that potential projects are worth $3 billion.
The fund, first mentioned by Putin in December, marks the government's determination to focus VEB efforts on some of the country's most depressed regions. VEB recently created a similar fund for the explosive North Caucasus.
Putin also approved a $1.6 billion loan to a company in Tatarstan that wants to order a fertilizer plant from a Mitsubishi-led consortium. Most of the funding will come from Japanese banks, VEB chief Vladimir Dmitriyev said.
Speaking about the Far East fund, Putin said VEB was considering projects worth 88 billion rubles ($3 billion). He didn't elaborate on the projects and it was unclear Wednesday whether VEB would look for partners when investing through the fund.
"I am sure that all plans that have been outlined will be implemented," Putin told VEB's board, which he chairs, on Tuesday evening.
The fund would also cover the Lake Baikal area.
Putin said in December that the region had interesting investment opportunities in energy, metals, timber and fishing industries.
VEB has already extended loans in the region. Last year, it handed out 3 billion rubles to finance construction of a timber processing plant in the Khabarovsk region. It also lent 2.3 billion rubles for upgrading the Knevichi airport near Vladivostok as part of preparations to host the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in 2012.
The fertilizer plant in Tatarstan will supply domestic farmers and export its products to the other former Soviet republics, Europe and Asia, Putin said. VEB and a state-owned investment fund of Tatarstan will have control in the Ammiak — or Ammonia — company that ordered the plant, Dmitriyev told reporters after the board meeting.
Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Sojitz Corporation and China National Chemical Engineering Corporation signed a contract late last year to build the plant, one of the largest of its type in the world.
Dmitriyev also said VEB was "ready" to provide financing, if need be, for the joint venture between Sollers and Ford that the automakers announced last week. He added that there were no formal agreements on the issue yet.
Putin said VEB's efforts to lower the mortgage rates this year should encourage people to borrow as much as they did before the crisis for purchasing homes — or 650 billion rubles a year — as soon as by year end, according to the government web site.
VEB has put aside 200 billion rubles to invest in refinancing mortgages this year.
In an effort to lure shipping and fishing businesses away from ordering at foreign shipyards, VEB will issue guarantees to potential customers of the state-run United Shipbuilding Company that they will get their money back if contracts go wrong, Putin said. The guarantees will be worth 40 billion rubles.
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