Ukrtelecom majority stake allegedly sold

Обзоры по компаниям и отраслям 18.01.2013 An unknown Cyprian company, UA TelecomInvest Ltd., purchased ESU, the holder of a 92.79% stake in Ukrtelecom (UTLM UK), Ukraine’s biggest landline telephone company, the mass media reported on Jan. 17. Before that, the Ukrainian-registered ESU was fully owned by Cyprian EPIC Telecom Invest Ltd, an indirect subsidiary of the Austria-based fund EPIC. The state’s 92.79% stake in Ukrtelecom was sold to ESU in March 2011. Alexander Paraschiy: If the sale of Ukrtelecom’s largest stake holder is true (we didn’t find any official confirmation), SCM looks like the most likely buyer. Recall that in September 2012, the Kommersant newspaper reported rumors that SCM is looking to enter Ukrtelecom via purchase from its large stakeholder (see our news from Sept. 29, 2012). If so, this is the best outcome for Ukrtelecom’s fundamental outlook: Ukrtelecom will add much value to SCM’s telecom wing, which consists of Ukraine’s third-largest mobile operator, Astelit, and small fixed-line provider Vega. On the other end, this type of deal will have no direct implication for Ukrtelecom’s minority shareholders – no mandatory buyback offer is required by legislation.