Russia’s Golden Telecom and VimpelCom have issued a statement confirming they are in discussion about a take-over over the former by a subsidiary of the later at a price of $105 (€71.6) in cash per share. They have also said that neither will make any further comment until “either a definitive agreement has been reached or discussions have been terminated.” Golden Telecom is a leading provider of broadband services in Russia, while VimpelCom is one of the country’s three leading mobile operators, its GSM and 3G licence portfolio covering a territory of 250 million people in Russia and other parts of the CIS. Golden Telecom currently lists Altimo (26.6%), Telenor (18.3%), Rostelecom (11%) and Inure (7.9%) as its main shareholders, with Inure a co-owner of Corbina Telecom, which launch an IPTV service earlier this year.
