New telecoms market regulations set to be introduced by the government is forcing many phone and Internet service providers in Russia to either merge or get out of business, while state-controlled giant Rostelecom is using this opportunity to increase its share of the telecoms pie.
"The purchase of a controlling stake in Zebra Telecom follows [Rostelecom's] strategy to strengthen its position on the telecoms market for end users," Rostelecom said in a statement.
State-controlled telecoms holding Svyazinvest holds a 50.67% stake in Rostelecom, Russia's largest long-distance telecom services provider.
Rostelecom is included in the RUXX (Russian Industrial Leaders Index), a composite economic index of 17 Russian companies with financial instruments (shares and depository receipts) placed on bourses including the New York Stock Exchange, the London Stock Exchange, the Nasdaq and AMEX.
