Thursday, December 13 2018 18:22

ArmInfo. The Public Services Regulatory Commission (PSRC) has agreed to alienate the shares of the Armenian subsidiary of Rostelecom CJSC GIENSI-ALPHA in favor of MTS Armenia CJSC.

"PSRC decides on the alienation of 100% of the shares  (5,000 shares) owned by Filor Ventures Limited, registered in Cyprus,  which is the sole shareholder of GIENSI-ALPHA CJSC in favor of MTS  Armenia CJSC, said the PSRC statement.According to the report,  is obliged to submit relevant documents to PSRC  within three days after the conclusion of the transaction.  The PSRC  decision will enter into force on the day following the notification  from ZAO GIENSI-ALFA according to the procedure established by the  Law.Recall that in February of the current  year head  Mikhail Oseevsky told the Kommersant newspaper that the company is  looking for a buyer for an Armenian subsidiary.

In September 2017, the  Armenian Marketing Association recognized GNC-ALFA as a provider  providing the most high-quality Internet services in Armenia. In  addition, according to a survey, the company received the highest  loyalty index among consumers of television and Internet services.  Rostelecom began promotion to Armenia in 2012. The company's fiber-  optic networks with a length of more than 2.5 thousand km cover 80%  of the country's territory. The network is also connected to regional  backbone networks and an international Internet channel through  Georgia and Iran.In the opinion of independent observers, the  purchase of the Armenian subsidiary Rostelecom by MTS is more than  justified and will enhance the competitiveness of MTS-Armenia through  the energy services, especially in connection with the inclusion of  IP television in the package, which MTS- Armenia did not have. Now  technologically all the three main telecommunication operators of  Armenia - Beeline, Ucom and finally VIVACell-MTS will have similar  services. 

Experts doubt that this may lead to a noticeable drop in prices for  IP television, but MTS Armenia will have to strengthen marketing  tools to strengthen its position in the market. According to  financial analysts of ArmInfo, who refer to the company's latest  financial indicators, the amount of the transaction could range from  23 to 25 million US dollars.It should be noted that OJSC Rostelecom  (www.rostelecom.ru) is one of the largest national telecommunication  companies in Russia and Europe, present in all segments of the  telecommunications services market. The number of Internet users  exceeds 10.9 million, and pay TV subscribers - 7.7 million. Russian  OJSC Rostelecom, through its subsidiary company in Armenia, GNC-  ALFA, started promoting and retailing telecommunications services in  Armenia under its own brand in late 2012.