VIMPELCOM ACQUIRES GOLDEN TELECOM FOR ABOUT 4.3 BILLION DOLLARS: UNOFFICIAL DATA

arminfo
2007-12-21 13:01:00

ArmInfo-RBC. OJSC VimpelCom (trademark Beeline) has acquired Russian
alternative telecommunication operator Golden Telecom Inc. for about
4.3 billion dollars, Reuters reports referring to American media
who in their turn rely on a source close to the talks. Thus, the
official transaction will be announced later today. Under the contract,
VimpelCom will pay 105 dollars per share, which is a 5% bonus to the
price at the moment of closing the auction on December 20 2007. On
December 3 the companies declared about their negotiations. Afterwards,
International rating agency Standard & Poor’s revises the credit
ratings of both companies. Analysts stressed the transaction will
affect the financial flexibility of VimpelCom and will reduce its
possibilities to acquire other assets through borrowed money in CIS
and Asia. S&P revises the credit rating of VimpelCom (BB+) and makes
negative forecasts. Given the price of one share of Golden Telecom
(105 dollars), the borrowed money-EBIDTA ratio of VimpelCom will
rise to about 1.9, S&P analyst Alexander Gryaznov says. Evidently
the transaction will affect the financial flexibility of VimpelCom,
he says. Net profit of Golden Telecom on US GAAP in 2006 totaled 85.5
million dollars.