Telenor, Russia's Altimo form new mobile operator

Norwegian telecom firm Telenor and Russia's Altimo announced on
Monday the creation of a new mobile operator, ending a protracted
feud over control of a leading Russian mobile operator. Telenor and
Altimo, a unit of a conglomerate controlled by billionaire Mikhail
Fridman, will combine their common assets in Vimpelcom and Kyivstar
to create a new mobile operator, in a deal that means "resolution of
all outstanding disputes" between the two firms, the companies said.
"We have turned a five-year struggle into an exciting venture for the
future," Jon Fredrik Baksaas, president and chief executive of
Telenor Group, said in the statement. The merger puts an end to a
bitter corporate feud that had for a half a decade festered between
Telenor and Alfa Group over control of Vimpelcom, Russia's
second-biggest mobile operator. Altimo and Telenor have now agreed to
suspend all their ongoing legal proceedings and will move to withdraw
or settle them before the deal is completed by mid-2010 , the
companies said. Baksaas was one of a handful of executives who met
with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin over lunch last week, the same day
the powerful premier called on foreign investors to commit to
Russia.