According to a local report, Ukraine’s leading mobile operator Kyivstar could default on a $175 million (€130.3 million) Eurobond issue due to an on-going dispute between its two leading shareholders. The company, which ended 2006 with 21.5 million subscribers, is majority owned by Norway’s Telenor (56.5%) and Russia’s Alfa Group, through its subsidiary Storm LLC (43.5%). Both also have stakes in the Russian mobile company Vimpelcom and have not been able to agree on its expansion plans into Ukraine. According to Telenor, Storm LLC has persistently boycotted Kyivstar’s shareholder and board meetings for the last two years. As a result, Telenor decided last month to deconsolidate Kyivstar and present its interests in the company on a single line in its 2006 annual report.
