RUSSIAN COMPANY COMSTAR-UTS ACQUIRES 75%+1 OF ARMENIAN COMPANY CALLNET’S SHARES
Noyan Tapan
Oct 31 2006
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 31, NOYAN TAPAN. According to some Russian sources,
the Russian company Comstar-United TeleSystems (UTS), whose main
shareholder is Systema company, acquires 75%+1 of the Armenian company
CallNet’s shares and its 100%-owned company-provider Cornet. CallNet
is one of the four operators in the domestic market that have a
licence for traffic transit. 76% of the Armenian banks are CallNet’s
customers. According to the Regnum news agency, Cornet is the only
provider of Wi-Max services in Armenia, which will allow to use its
successul experience to develop WiMax network of Comstar-UTS in the
territory of Russia. Comstar-UTS attained control over Moscow City
Telephone Network OJSC and MTY-Intel CJSC and currently provides a
set of modern telecommunication services, including phone services,
data transmission, high-speed Internet access and paid television, and
virtual private networks (VPNs). In 2005, Comstar UTS’s consolidated
revenues reached 907.6 million USD, those of the Armenian company –
4.3 million USD. According to the newspaper "Kommersant", in early
2007 the Armenian government will grant a licence to the third
mobile phone communication operator in Armenia and, as the newspaper
"Haykakan Zhamanak" noted, it is not ruled out that if the Russian
companies do not win the tender for sale of ArmenTel’s shares, they
will win without fail the Armenian government-announced tender for
a third mobile phone communication operator.