VimpelCom buys Uzbek mobile phone operator

MOSCOW, January 18 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's second largest mobile operator VimpelCom, which operates under the BeeLine brand, has purchased 100% of shares in Uzbekistan's fourth largest mobile operator Bakri Uzbekistan Telecom for $60 million, the Russian company said in a statement Wednesday.

The Uzbek company operates under the brand name Buztel.

VimpelCom will also take on Buztel's debts, which total about $2.4 million, the statement said.

VimpelCom has also inked an agreement on purchasing Uzbekistan's second largest mobile provider Unitel for $200 million, plus Unitel's debt. Unitel is expected to have about $13.4 million in debt at the time a deal is closed, the statement said.

VimpelCom also said the deal with Unitel was contingent on approval from relevant government agencies.

Unitel and Buztel are licensed to provide mobile communications using GSM-900 and GSM-1800 standards in Uzbekistan.

After closing the deals, VimpelCom intends to merge Buztel and Unitel to establish a united company in Uzbekistan.

According to estimates, Unitel currently provides mobile phone services to about 364,000 subscribers, or 31% of Uzbekistan's market.

Buztel earlier belonged to Alfa Telecom Limited, a subsidiary of Alfa Group, Russia's leading financial and industrial holding company. Alfa Group indirectly holds 32.9% of VimpelCom's voting shares.