ArmInfo. Armenian communication operator, telecommunication Viva Cell-MTS company is going to put up its shares for public sale, "Zhamanak" newspaper reports.
According to the newspaper, the shares will be put up for sale in 2 weeks. It is reported that initially there was a desire to carry out a closed transaction, but no interest in acquiring the company has been observed. <There was some interest from investors from Qatar, but that was not all. Therefore, it was decided to make information about the sale of the company public>, the newspaper writes.
To recall, Viva Cell-MTS (MTS Armenia CJSC) received a license to operate in Armenia in 2004 and is a leading mobile operator in the country, which provides a wide range of voice and data services throughout the country. In September 2007, after the sale of 80% of the shares, Viva Cell-MTS became a subsidiary of one of the largest international telecom operators in the CIS - the Russian company Mobile TeleSystems (MTS).
Potential investors are waiting for official confirmation of this information. Then it will be clear what mechanism of public sale of shares of the company will be involved.
It should be noted that today on the telecommunications market of Armenia there are 2 more companies - VEON Armenia and Uбom. In January of this year, VEON announced negotiations on the sale of the Armenian subsidiary to Ucom, the leading communications operator in Armenia, but then, apparently, after scandals surrounding Ucom, the holding refused negotiations in May.
Over time, the world's leading provider of communications and Internet services VEON confirmed the fact of entering into negotiations with Team LLC regarding the possible sale of its business in Armenia. Team, which does not yet have an operating activity, was recently created by Yesayan brothers, former Ucom top managers, with the aim of acquiring a full stake in VEON Armenia using the raised funds. These days the antimonopoly body (State Commission for the Protection of Economic Competition) of Armenia has considered this proposal and today it should be considered by the Public Services Regulatory Commission.