As one of VimpelCom's minority shareholders told Vedomosti, the operator has developed a scheme that allows it to fulfill Telenor's wish and buy URS at a lower price: VimpelCom has reached an agreement with the Swedish telecommunications equipment manufacturer Ericsson to transfer $83 million in cash to URS's account. The Russian operator will pay URS's shareholders the promised $206.5 million, but the net purchase price will be reduced by these $83 million. This will allow VimpelCom to enter Ukraine without problems, Telenor to save face, and Ericsson to receive a large contract (worth about $400 million) with VimpelCom, the minority shareholder says. His words were confirmed to Vedomosti by two sources close to VimpelCom's shareholders, as well as a representative of one of the telecommunications equipment manufacturers. Vice President of Ericsson's Russian representative office Marina Levina neither confirmed nor denied this information, and VimpelCom's Director of Public Relations Mikhail Umarov refrained from commenting.

In February, VimpelCom agreed to buy URS for $206.5 million. This deal was supported by Alfa Telecom, while another VimpelCom shareholder, Telenor, opposed it, calling it too expensive. Alfa brought the issue of buying URS to a shareholders' meeting. The deal was supported by the owners of 51.2% of the voting shares - according to the charter, this is enough to consider it approved. But Telenor continued to insist that VimpelCom management had no right to make the purchase without the approval of the board of directors, and promised to go to court if the deal was made without the board's approval.

URS President Oleg Stefanyuk also declined to comment. But yesterday URS reported that back in July it had chosen Ericsson as the supplier of a “comprehensive GSM solution for the Kyiv region.” URS did not disclose the amount of the contract with Ericsson.

Telenor is not against considering the purchase of URS again if the cost of the deal “significantly decreases” and the deal is submitted to the board of directors of VimpelCom again, says the senior press secretary of the Norwegian company Dag Melgaard. Telenor is not interested in specific ways to reduce the cost of the deal, he specified. Vice President of Alfa Telecom Kirill Babayev did not comment on the agreements of VimpelCom. But a source close to the shareholders of the operator told Vedomosti that recently negotiations between Telenor and Alfa regarding VimpelCom’s entry into Ukraine have resumed.

Experts have mixed feelings about the scheme invented by VimpelCom. By providing money to URS, Ericsson will receive a contract with VimpelCom bypassing the tender, which is wrong, a representative of one of the large companies producing telecommunications equipment is indignant. And an analyst from a large investment bank does not rule out that VimpelCom will have to purchase equipment from Ericsson at a price $83 million higher than its real value, which in fact means deceiving shareholders. If shareholders do not agree to the deals with Ericsson, they have the right to accuse VimpelCom management of abuse, says FBK Deputy CEO Alexey Terekhov. “I will definitely sue VimpelCom management if the company has to return $83 million to Ericsson under the guise of payments for equipment,” the minority shareholder promises.

To Ukraine – for other people’s money