Mobile TeleSystems (MTS), the leading telecommunications operator in Russia and the CIS, and VimpelCom announced a joint bid to acquire Tele2 Russia, a subsidiary of Tele2 AB, for between US$ 4.0 – 4.25 billion, including US$1.15 billion of net debt. This represents a premium of up to 30% for Tele2 AB and its shareholders relative to the equity value of the recently announced offer from VTB Capital.
In a letter to Tele2 AB, the CEOs of MTS and VimpelCom, write, “We
would like to express our strong interest in providing an alternative offer to the shareholders of Tele2 AB and we think this is a distinctly more attractive proposal. We remain convinced that we can create vastly superior value for your shareholders and would be prepared to enter into discussions immediately with the aim of being able to conclude a transaction within a short timeframe and hence deliver the sort of transaction certainty we imagine Tele2 would be seeking.”
