MTS, one of the largest Russian mobile operator, can put up its stake in the Belarusian joint venture Mobile TeleSystems at auction, if Belarus sells a stake in the company, owned by the state, at a cost of $1 billion. This was reported in the company of Russian mobile operator.
«If the government of Belarus has decided to put its share up for sale at a price of $1 billion, we do not exclude the possibility to join the auctions by offering our own share at a comparable price,» told in MTS, RIA «News» news agency.
In this case, the Russian telecom operator is still interested in business development in Belarus and in the purchase of state shares in the joint venture only at a reasonable price, the company told.
As Telegraf previously reported, Belarus plans to offer a stake in MTS, owned by the state, for international bidding. According to Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus Anatoli Kalinin, the Russian MTS company was going to buy the government stake in the Belarusian companies, but the parties failed to agree on a price.
Belarus was not satisfied with the Russian company’s original proposal to pay only part of the stake with further extra charges depending on the rating of the cellular operator in the world market. Belarus is insisting on full payment for shares, said Anatoli Kalinin.
49% of the joint Russian-Belarus company MTS is now owned by the Russian mobile operator MTS, while a majority (51%) belongs to Beltelecom.
