Vimpelcom, Alfa Group and Telenor Invest USD 175 Million in Vimpelcom-Region Mobile Phone Operator

Russian mobile phone operator Vimpelcom, which offers services under the Bee Line trade mark, has announced that it has completed a syndicated deal on investment to develop its daughter company Vimpelcom-Region. The company's press office revealed that Vimpelcom, Alfa Group and the Norwegian telecommunications concern Telenor have each invested USD 58.48 million in the development of Vimpelcom-Region. Vimpelcom-Region will use the money to develop its network and infrastructure in Russia's regions. After the investment takes place, Vimpelcom's stake in Vimpelcom-Region's share capital will be 65%, and Alfa Group and Telenor will each have a 17.5% stake.

Vimpelcom is one of Russia's three mobile phone giants, along with MTS and Megafon. Vimpelcom and Vimpelcom-Region mobile services are available to 79% of the Russian population. In October Vimpelcom received a license to use the GSM-900 standard in the North-West Federal District (including St. Petersburg).

© &to=http://www.rosbalt.com' target=_blank>RosBalt

&to=http://www.vimpelcom.ru/en/NYSE.html' target=_blank>VIMPELCOM

&to=http://www.telenor.no/' target=_blank>TELENOR