... industry depends on how quickly the company is swooped up and taken under the wing of one of the big three operators. The structures of Alisher Usmanov, and above all, the company Garsdale Services Investment Limited, are part of the same structure with MegaFon. Not too long ago, it was announced that the two companies had already initiated the process for the acquisition of Scartel. However, regulators have not yet approved such a transfer of control over the company that holds the license to the "cherished"...

Profit and margins at No. 2 telecoms operator MegaFon slipped in the first quarter as it prepares for an initial public offering in London that could raise $4 billion. The company said first-quarter net profit fell 8.1 percent year on year to 9.27 billion rubles ($306 million), hit by network expansion...

Billionaire Alisher Usmanov has taken steps to bring Scartel and its mobile data provider brand Yota under his wing and closer to MegaFon by signing an agreement with Scartel shareholders to take control through a co-owned holding company. Billionaire Alisher Usmanov has taken steps to bring Scartel and its mobile data provider brand Yota under his wing and closer to MegaFon by...

... technology-related bets have set him apart from his country's rivals, and 2012 looks set to be a particularly lucrative year. Along with the Facebook stake that values the firm at 10 times what it was worth when he invested three years ago, Usmanov plans to float MegaFon, the $20 billion telecoms firm he took control of last month. "He has his fingers everywhere," said one Moscow-based financial source who said he knows Usmanov. "With MegaFon and Facebook, it looks as though he'll be having a massive...

... Three cellular operators all lost subscribers in the first quarter of 2012, according to research firm AC&M, Interfax reported. MTS lost 0.83 percent of its subscribers, dropping to 69.37 million; VimpelCom lost 2.8 percent, to 55.62 million; while MegaFon lost only 0.002 percent, dropping to 61.63 million. (MT)

... competition, was to provide the people of the Russian Federation as fast as possible with mobile broadband services using the LTE standard," the ministry said. Roskomnadzor oversees communications regulations. Analysts have said the Big Three — MegaFon, Beeline and Mobile TeleSystems — have the best chances. But the ministry said Thursday that "the terms of the competition practically exclude the possibility of a single operator winning more than one lot," indicating that a fourth...

... Investments. Lunder said he was hoping VimpelCom would win one of the 4G licenses due to be awarded in Russia. In May, Russia launched a tender for long-awaited licenses on 4G network services, and it is expected to announce the winners on July 12. MTS, MegaFon and VimpelCom, as well as long-distance operator Rostelecom and Sweden’s Tele2, have yet to secure enough spectrum to roll out full 4G services in Russia. RBC Daily reported Tuesday that Tele2 might sell its Russian business if it does...

... process by which mobile service was set up for the Amur (Chita to Khabarovsk) road last year. Putin said in August 2010 that coverage should be provided for the Amur road. In February 2011, the Big Three operators — VimpelCom, Mobile TeleSystems and MegaFon — agreed with the Communications and Press Ministry that the operators would jointly build and run the network infrastructure and that the state would provide the access to and power for the antenna towers. In the end, the operators spent...

... through Yury Milner's Digital Sky Technologies in 2009, has grown to five times its purchase value. He is in line for a huge windfall in the company's upcoming IPO. Just this week Usmanov, 58, consolidated his hold on Russia's No. 2 wireless carrier MegaFon in a deal with shareholders that leaves him with a 50 percent plus one share stake in the firm. He was also entangled in the corruption scandal that blew up around Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov last month. Anti-corruption blogger and lawyer...

... which is the size of Ukraine in terms of gas consumption. Yet, this is all theoretical. In reality, the number of people who can stage a deal like this in Russia can be counted on one hand. With that in mind, consolidating Bashneft, Norilsk Nickel, MegaFon, or Uralkali can be planned by any banker in theory, but in reality it can only be done by those who drive around Moscow in limos surrounded by bodyguards in separate vehicles. The valuations of Russian large caps set a tendency for these companies...