Alfa Group Wants Turkcell

TeliaSonera has agreed with the Turkish company, Cukurova Group, to purchase 27% of Turkcell for USD 3.1 bn. This would increase TeliaSonera?s stake to 64.3%. However, Alfa-Telecom claims it has offered a higher bid for Turkcell?s stake. Concorde Capital: This step is likely an attempt by Alfa to enter the Ukrainian market, as Tukcell controls mobile operators in Ukraine. It may also be a move to further penetrate other markets in the CIS, as Turkcell has operations in Moldova, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan. Alfa?s subsidiary, Vimpelcom,0 can now enter Ukrainian mobile market with Turkcell?s Astelit, which is active in the mobile market. It is also possible that Alfa is attempting to gain the upper hand in its seemingly endless conflict with TeliaSonera and Russian mobile provider Magafon.