Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov, who tops the Russian Forbes Rich List, is set to become a controlling shareholder in Russia’s third largest mobile operator MegaFon in a $5 billion deal, business paper Kommersant reported on Tuesday.
The deal, expected to be finalized soon, will allow structures close to Usmanov, who currently holds 31.1 percent in MegaFon, to buy 8 percent of the mobile operator’s stock from TeliaSonera and another 10.7 percent from Alfa Group, from which a MegaFon subsidiary will acquire another 14.4 percent of the mobile firm’s shares.
Under the deal, a MegaFon Cyprus-based subsidiary will buy 14.4 percent of MegaFon shares from Altimo, the operator of Alfa Group’s telecommunication assets.
At the same time, Usmanov's AF Group will purchase 10.7 percent of MegaFon shares from Altimo and also acquire 26.1 percent of Telecominvest, through which TeliaSonera and AF Group jointly own MegaFon.
After the deal is closed, AF Group will hold 50 percent of MegaFon, MegaFon’s Cyprus-based subsidiary will hold another 14.4 percent and TeliaSonera will hold 35.6 percent.
Uzbek-origin oligarch Usmanov, who amassed his wealth with Metalloinvest mining and metals giant, is also co-owner of leading Russian internet investor Digital Sky Technologies Ltd., which holds stakes in key internet players such as Facebook, and popular Russian sites such as Vkontakte.ru, Odnoklassniki.ru and Mail.ru.
