Sovintel and TeleRoss to unite under one brand

Russian telecommunications providers Sovintel and TeleRoss will operate under the Golden Telecom brand, Golden Telecom's Chief Operating Officer Stan Abbeloos reported at a press conference today. The Sovintel brand will be abolished and the united company will continue to operate as a legal entity with the name Sovintel. According to the Golden Telecom's Chief Operating Officer, legal formalities will be completed by the second quarter of 2003.

Revenues of the united company are expected to reach $320-340m in 2003, Abbeloos reported. Its EBITDA is forecasted to be $100-120m and the volume of investments may surpass $50m.

Reports on the acquisition of a 50-percent stake in Sovintel from Rostelecom by Golden Telecom were posted on September 5, 2002. As a result of the deal, Golden Telecom became the owner of a 100-percent stake in Sovintel, which operates its own telephone networks in Moscow and St. Petersburg.

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