TeliaSonera and billionaire Mikhail Fridman’s Alfa Group said Thursday that they plan to appeal a Russian court decision aimed at stopping the merger of their stakes in MegaFon, the country's third-largest wireless operator.
“We believe the decision was wrong, and we still believe our agreement is fully valid and enforceable and doesn’t contradict Russian law,” said TeliaSonera spokeswoman Cecilia Edstroem. The companies haven’t yet sought approval for the deal from Russian authorities, she said. Yevgeny Dumalkin, a spokesman for Alfa’s telecommunications arm Altimo, also said it disagrees with the decision and plans to appeal.
TeliaSonera and Altimo agreed last year to combine their stakes in Turkcell Iletisim Hizmetleri and MegaFon to increase dividends and improve corporate governance. The ruling is the second rejection of the deal by Russian courts after Telecominvest, a MegaFon shareholder owned by billionaire Alisher Usmanov, sued in April to block the merger of the holdings, citing a Russian law that bars state-controlled foreign investors from taking control of strategic companies.
After a Moscow court ruled to nullify the deal, Russian authorities referred the case to a different court, which handed down the current decision, Edstroem said. TeliaSonera expects to receive the decision in about a week, examine it and subsequently appeal, she said.
No one at the press office of Moscow’s ninth arbitrary court of appeal was immediately available to comment.
Telecominvest said it is willing to buy out the other shareholders in MegaFon, company chief executive Ivan Streshinsky said Thursday, following the court's decision.
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
Remind me later.
