ARMENIAN GOVT. OFFERS 10% IN ARMENTEL TO RUSSIA’S VIMPELCOM
TREND< Azerbaijan Nov 8 2006 (RIA Novosti) - Armenia will sell VimpelCom [RTS: VIMP] the remaining 10% in one of the country's two telecom companies on condition it abandons further expansion plans, a minister said Wednesday. The Armenian government has offered its stake in Armentel to VimpelCom, which has already closed a deal to buy the other 90% from Greek telecom group Hellenic Telecommunications Organization SA (OTE) for 341.9 million euros ($434.5 million), Communications Minister Andranik Manukyan said, reports Trend. VimpelCom, which outpaced the Russian mobile market leader MTS [RTS: MTSS] at the tender to buy 40% of the Armenian cellular telecommunications market, undertakes to pay the Armenian company's liabilities of about 40 million euros ($51 million). The deal is to be closed by the end of 2006, VimpelCom said in a news release. Hellenic Telecommunications Organization SA (OTE) purchased Armentel in 1997 for $142.5 million and has since invested $300 million in the company, whose earnings in 2005 stood at 110 million euros ($140 million). Armentel has about 600,000 fixed-line and 400,000 mobile service subscribers, and operates in the GSM 900 and CDMA standards.