Sell of the only foreign asset of Rostelecom may not take place

ArmInfo.The sell of the Armenian company GNC-Alfa CJSC, which represents the brand of the Russian telecommunications giant Rostelecom in the country, did not take  place, and the prospect of selling the company is uncertain. This is  reported by CivilNet, pointing out that the reason for the failure is  the Russian-Ukrainian crisis, or rather, Western sanctions against  Russian companies that did not allow the buyer to attract credit  resources and make payments to close the deal.

An attempt to get at least some comment from the company itself also failed. The marketing and PR department asked to be contacted later,  after which they simply stopped answering calls.

As ArmInfo previously reported, on January 19, 2022, the Public  Services Regulatory Commission (PSRC) of Armenia approved the sale of  the 100% shares of Filor Ventures Limited, the only stockholder of  Rostelecom  Armenia, (GNC-Alfa, daughter company of Rostelecom), to  Molitro  Holdings Limited (Cyprus) founded by RA citizen Arman  Hunanyan and  the Electric Networks of Armenia CJSC. 

According to the Commission's decision, on January 19 the Commission   received an application from the GNC-Alpha CJSC according to which   the RA citizen Arman Hunanyan and the Electric Networks of Armenia   CJSC intended to incorporate a new company, Molitro Holdings Limited,   in Cyprus, which will purchase 100% of the shares of Filor Ventures  Limited, the only stockholder of GNC-Alpha. Thus, GNC- Alpha, applied  to the Commission for permission to sell the shares of Filor Ventures  Limited to Molitro Holdings Limited. Besides, in response to the  Commission's inquiry, GNC-Alfa assured the Commission of Molitro  Holdings Limited's readiness to invest in GNC-Alfa to ensure its  operation and development.  It was also noted that The issue was  discussed at the RA Ministry of High-Tech Industry,  which did not  object to the transaction after consulting the RA National Security  Service.  According to the Commission, the transaction can be  effected within  six months after the Commission's decision takes  effect. 

The Electric Networks of Armenia CJSC is owned by the founder of the  Tashir group Samvel Karapetyan and his family. Also, through the  Russia-based Forabank the Karapetyan family own almost 11% of the  Ucom company, which is one of Armenia's mobile operators. Ucom gave  assurances earlier that they are not a direct or indirect purchaser  of GNC-Alfa.  GNC-Alfa, daughter company of Rostelecom, was founded  in 2007.  Rostelecom purchased 75% minus one share of GNC-Alfa for  $22.5mln in  February 2012.  That was the first purchase of a  provider outside  Russia. At the same time, Rostelecom was granted an  option on the  purchase of the rest 25% plus one share of GNC-Alfa.

In August 2019, purchased the rest 25.02% of GNC-Alfa for RUB 507mln.   It was in the winter of 2018 that the media first reported  Rostelecom's intention to sell its daughter company. "We are thinking  about how much this business is complementary to us. Our task is not  to sell it. However, other global actors' experience shows that such  inter-country synergy is not obvious," Mikhail Oseevsky, Rostelecom  President, stated then.  "Different laws, different client base,  products. So we are thinking about how we can most effectively  organize our work - including through sale," he said. In  mid-September 2021, Mikhail Oseevsky stated that the company was  seeking a purchaser of the Armenian communication operator GNC- Alfa,  with the opening bid of about $25mln. 

Rostelecom-Armenia is one of the leading telecommunication operators  in Armenia, which has since 2021 been providing broadband Internet  access, smart IP TV services, high-quality stationary telephone  communication, and a number of cloud-based services to individuals  and corporate clients. The company has introduced the GPON technology  in Armenia. The company's optic- fiber network has a total length of  2,500km and covers 80% of Armenia's territory. The network is  connected to the regional mainline communications networks and  international Internet channels through Georgia and Iran.  Rostelecom   Armenia is the only Armenian company that has three international  channels connected to Russia an Europe, which are both physically and  geographically separated from each other, which is a guarantee of  reliable and uninterrupted services.  In 2020, Rostelcom Armenia  launched cooperation with CenturyLink, one of the world's major  Internet providers, thereby diversifying its transnational Internet  resources.