Rostelecom Completes Mobile Merger With Tele2
Russian state-controlled telecoms operator Rostelecom said it had completed the final stage of a deal to create a mobile joint venture with the country's fourth-biggest wireless carrier Tele2 Russia.
Rostelecom transferred 100 percent of its shares in its subsidiary RT-Mobile to the joint venture and had its licenses reissued to the new entity.
It will have a 45 percent stake in the joint venture, while state-controlled bank VTB and its partners will get a 55 percent stake.
VTB bought Tele2 Russia from Nordic telecoms group Tele2 for $3.6 billion in 2013. It later agreed to sell half of the business to a group of investors including affiliates of Bank Rossiya and entities of Alexei Mordashov who controls steelmaker Severstal. (Reuters)
Russian Grain Exporter Seeks to Sell Ukrainian Port Terminal
Yug Rusi, a Russian grain exporter and sunflower oil producer, is seeking to sell its terminal at Ukraine's Kherson port, two traders said.
The privately held company, whose name means "South of Russia," declined to comment.
One source said that the terminal is a small one that can load vessels with up to 10,000 tons of vegetable oil or up to 15,000 tons of grain.
Russian companies are expected to try and exit Ukrainian investments as relations between the countries have become increasingly strained after Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in March.
"It does not look good for the time being, being Russian and having assets in Ukraine," one of the sources said.
The sources said it would be difficult for Yug Rusi to complete a sale given the uncertainty facing businesses with operations in Ukraine as political tensions worsen. (Reuters)