GOVERNMENT SELLS MINORITY SHARE IN ARMENTEL
By Emil Danielyan
Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
March 22 2007
Ending months of speculation, the Armenian government announced on
Thursday the sale of its minority stake in ArmenTel to a Russian
company that acquired 90 percent of the national telecommunications
operator late last year.
The government said VimpelCom, a leading Russian mobile phone operator,
will pay approximately $50 million to get the remaining 10 percent
of ArmenTel’s stock. A government statement issued after a weekly
cabinet session did not give reasons for the move. It only cited a
November 13 memorandum of understanding signed by VimpelCom and the
Armenian Ministry of Transport and Communications.
VimpelCom, the first Russian firm listed on the New York Stock
Exchange, purchased the commanding share in one of Armenia’s largest
companies from the Greek telecom giant OTE in a $500 million deal
announced on November 3.
Media reports at the time said the government offered the Russians
to buy its largely symbolic share on the condition that they will
give up ArmenTel’s controversial legal monopoly on Armenia’s Internet
communication with the outside world. Armenian officials and VimpelCom
executives did not confirm those reports.
On December 18, VimpelCom unilaterally relinquished the Internet
monopoly and pledged to scrap ArmenTel’s remaining exclusive rights to
other telecom services by the end of this year. The move was strongly
welcomed by local Internet service providers and their customers
that have long complained about the poor quality and high cost of
the service.