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Telenor said Friday that it would not talk with billionaire Mikhail Fridman's Alfa Group about settling their dispute until the end of Farimex Products' lawsuit, which has led to a $1.7 billion fine against the Norwegian company.
"As long as there is a Farimex case against us, there will be no talks," said Anna Ivanova-Galitsina, a spokeswoman for Telenor in Moscow. She declined to comment on Vedomosti's report Friday that the two companies were in talks on merging and Ukraine's Kyivstar.
Farimex, the Russian owner of a 0.002 percent VimpelCom stake, brought a case against Telenor in Siberia. The Norwegian company was found liable for damages for delaying VimpelCom's expansion in Ukraine and fined. Telenor says Farimex is a front for Alfa Group, which owns 44 percent of VimpelCom. Altimo, Alfa's telecommunications unit, has denied any link to Farimex.
Telenor, the biggest Nordic phone company, holds a total stake of 29.9 percent stake in VimpelCom. Russian bailiffs seized a stake of 26.6 percent and this month issued an order to sell it to pay the $1.7 billion fine.
Telenor made a preliminary agreement to merge VimpelCom with Kyivstar, which is 56.5 percent owned by Telenor and 43.5 percent by Alfa's Altimo, Vedomosti reported, citing two unidentified people familiar with talks. Kirill Babayev, vice president at Altimo, also declined to comment on the report.
"Should the reported deal to integrate VimpelCom and Kyivstar go ahead, this would most likely remove the risk of a forced sale of Telenor's stake in VimpelCom," wrote in a note to investors.
The report of a possible agreement "supports our view that an amicable resolution is the most likely outcome of the conflict" between Telenor and Altimo, the note said.
Telenor Rules Out Alfa Talks With Farimex Case Ongoing
29 June 2009
Bloomberg
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