Svyazinvest may buy blocking in self from Rostelecom, not VEB - paper
MOSCOW. Sept 19 (Interfax) - The buyer of a blocking stake in telecoms holding OJSC Svyazinvest from OJSC Rostelecom may be the holding itself, Kommersant business daily reports, citing a draft for the second phase of Svyazinvest reorganization prepared for a meeting of the government's transportation and communications commission.
Sources told Interfax earlier that VEB might buy the Svyazinvest stake, having been supposed to acquire the holding's shares from AFK Sistema , but the process of selection got the stock for Rostelecom. The option remains under consideration, Kommersant reports.
The two options written into materials for the commission meeting involve Svyazinvest turning over to Rostelecom existing assets (Sky Link, 51% in Central Telegraph , Giprosvyaz, and KGTS) in exchange for 6.3% of its own ordinary shares, and additional assets (29% in Central Telegraph and Bashkirinvormsvyaz , 51% of MMTS-9, Ingushelektrosvyaz, and Chukotkasvyazinform) in exchange for 2.1% of its shares. With the first option, the remaining 16.6% of the holding's stock held by Rostelecom would be bought up by a specially created company wholly owned by Svyazinvest with bank financing. With the second, VEB might buy up the state. The value of the existing Svyazinvest assets is estimated in the document at 14.35 billion rubles, the additionals at 5.24 billion rubles, and the 16.6% in the holding at 39.57 billion rubles, judging from an appraisal of 25% in Svyazinvest of 59.165 billion rubles.
"We joined this project with the aim of consolidating the communications sector, of if the supervisory board so decides, we will [acquire the Svyazinvest shares], that issue is not on the agenda for the upcoming meeting," VEB's first deputy chief, Anatoly Tikhonov, told Interfax on Saturday.
If the second option and the share buyup by Svyazinvest is opted for, the holding will exist as long as it has not paid off the credit - at least until 2017, Kommersant writes.
The Communications and Mass Media Ministry has said that the commission's next meeting that will take up the course of the reorganization of the Svyazinvest group of companies is planned for December.