Norwegian telecom firm Telenor's proposal involved VimpelCom's acquisition of 100% in Ukrainian mobile operator Kyivstar for at least $5 bln in cash. VimpelCom proposed in February to acquire 100% of Kyivstar shares for $5 billion of its own shares.
Telenor said one of its principal conditions for the deal was to clinch an agreement with Alfa Group, which owns Altimo, providing for market-based separation, which would allow either Telenor or Alfa to hold a controlling stake in VimpelCom.
The dispute first began when Alfa Group supported a VimpelCom deal to acquire Ukrainian Radio Systems, a leading cell phone operator in Ukraine. Telenor came out against the deal, saying it was overpriced.
The deal went through in the fall of 2005, and in January 2006 Telenor filed three lawsuits with a Moscow arbitration court against VimpelCom to challenge the deal.
VimpelCom recently sent an offer to Telenor and Altimo to buy a 100% stake in Kyivstar to end the dispute. Telenor and Alfa Group are the core shareholders of Kyivstar.
Altimo said in a statement it was satisfied with the resumption of talks on this issue, and welcomed Telenor's consent to continue the negotiating process of uniting the largest mobile operators of Russia and Ukraine.
However, Altimo said the withdrawal of one of the shareholders from VimpelCom was not the sole method of solving disputes between the company's shareholders.
Telenor, in turn, expressed the hope that its balanced proposal would serve as the basis for the continuation of dialogue.
VimpelCom is best known for the Beeline trademark, one of Russia's most popular mobile operators. Telenor holds 26.6% of shares in VimpelCom, while Altimo (previously Alfa Telecom) holds a 32.9% stake. The conflict between Telenor and Alfa Group first erupted over VimpelCom's plans to enter the Ukrainian cell phone market.
