Leonid Reiman, who is also the chairman of the Svyazinvest board of directors said the price of the holding's stake in the Moscow fixed-line operator had been approved at 519 rubles ($19.21) per share, adding that it would be preferable for the company if Comstar UTS were to put forward an additional bid.
Comstar UTS, a private telecoms operator which holds a controlling stake in MGTS, made an offer in mid-December to buy the remaining shares in the fixed-line operator at 490 rubles (about $17.13) per share. A second offer to buy common shares from minority shareholders, also at 490 rubles ($17.50) per share, was made in March this year.
Svyazinvest, which holds 23% of voting shares in MGTS, did not respond to the offers, because government representatives on the company's board of directors were unable to decide on the issue without a government resolution. The Svyazinvest board of directors then decided to have its stake in the Moscow phone operator valued by an auditor.
This work was done by KPMG, which put the shares at 519 rubles, 5.9% higher than the price offered by Comstar UTS.
Comstar UTS general director Semyon Rabovsky said in July the company was considering announcing a third offer to buy the MGTS minority stake from Svyazinvest.
"We are interested in acquiring Svyazinvest's remaining stake in MGTS," Rabovsky said. "We are holding negotiations and consultations with interested parties, and are considering announcing a third offer, if necessary, to make the government's decision-making process easier."
