Empreno Ventures has called on United Group and its controlling shareholder BC Partners to halt negotiations pertaining to the acquisition of the Bulgarian incumbent telco Vivacom pending a court decision.
In a statement supplied to Broadband TV News, it says that it has evidence and will prove in court that the sale of Vivacom by VTB, the Russian state-controlled bank, is the final stage of a fraudulent scheme and subject to on-going legal proceedings in courts in the UK, Luxembourg and the US.
Empreno Ventures, which owns 43.3% of V2 Investment Sarl, the former sole parent of Vivacom, adds that it has taken steps to inform the potential buyer of the fraudulent activity by VTB in connection to Vivacom. According to court documents and witness statements, after VTB gained control of Vivacom shares, it sold them at a fraudulent unlawful and manipulated auction to the consortium Viva Telecom (Luxembourg) SA led by Spas Roussev at a significantly lower price, whereas VTB controlled and financed the buyer.
It also says that contrary to VTB’s position that cases against Viva Telecom and VTB Capital were dismissed, there are currently five legal actions taking place in three different jurisdictions. Furthermore, it points out that seven out of eight potential bidders for Vivacom have pulled out citing unresolved legal disputes.
As previously reported by Broadband TV News, United Group is currently engaged in talks to buy Vivacom, in which Roussev owns a 46% stake.
The sale of Vivacom in 2016 has been contested by Empreno, which is owned by the Russian entrepreneur Dmitry Kosarev.
Vivacom has claimed that Empreno’s have been dismissed in court on technical grounds.
