The ANN investment company and VimpelCom announced their purchase of the Euroset group, one of the largest commercial cell phone networks in Russia.
With its Beeline brand, VimpelCom is a leading Russian mobile operator, though its headquarters are located in Amsterdam.
The agreement between ANN and the founders of Euroset was concluded in September, 2008, with Alexander Mamut, the owner of ANN, gaining 100% ownership of all Euroset shares. Shortly thereafter, 49.9% of Euroset shares were resold to VimpelCom for $226 million. The estimated value of Euroset in 2008 was approximately $1.3 billion after factoring in their bank debt of $900 million.
Both former owners of Euroset are completing the transaction from outside Russia. One of them, Yevgeny Chichvarkin, moved with his family to London in December, 2008, shortly after the Investigative Committee at the Prosecutor-General’s Office initiated proceedings against him and several other former Euroset employees. They were accused of kidnapping, robbery and extortion. In 2009, the Prosecutor-General’s Office opened a private case against Chichvarkin, and sent a request to London for his extradition. However, the prosecution was recently dropped after a jury acquitted the former Euroset employees still in Russia, freeing them after two years of incarceration.
Source: Vedomosti
