VimpelCom Tired Of Waiting.
2 June 2008
Alexander Izosimov, CEO of VimpelCom (VIP), announced that the company had withdrawn its USD 5 bln bid for Kyivstar. The main reason for the withdrawal was the belief that the main Kyivstar shareholders (Telenor and Alfa) are unlikely to reach an agreement, which adds uncertainty to VIP’s development plan. Izosimov said VimpelCom is ready to come back to the buyout issue after Kyivstar’s shareholders reach consensus. Currently VIP is developiong the small Ukrainian mobile operator URS, and expects the company to reach the break-even-point in a year, and occupy 10-12% of Ukrainian mobile market by the end of 2008. Concorde Capital: VIP’s decision is likely to increase the bargaining power of Alfa in its dispute with Telenor. The delay in VimpelCom’s purchase of Kyivstar implies VIP will further develop URS. Telenor was against the purchase of URS by VIP.
