Russian giant VimpelCom says its Wind Italy and Orascom Egypt units are not for sale, and has recommended that shareholders reject an offer, made in March, by a subsidiary of the Altimo organization, run by Russian billionaire and telecoms tycoon Mikhail Fridman.
The cellco is also reported to be fending off possible offers from Naguib Sawiris, former controller of the Orascom/Wind group, which he sold to VimpelCom. Sawiris is said to be interested in re-entering the Italian telecoms group and taking back Wind.
VimpelCom CEO Jo Lunder says he does not plan to sell Wind, which is ‘outperforming competitors by growth in subscribers and revenue’.
A unit of Altimo, which owns 47.85% of VimpelCom, has made an offer of $0.70 per share for Orascom Egypt.
At home, VimpelCom reported a 28% rise in net profit in its first quarter, but the $408m result was well below analyst expectations and the cellco is being overshadowed by rival MegaFon ‘ which recently overtook the third mobile major in Russia, MTS, by market value. MegaFon reported a 36.5% rise in Q1 net income to €311m, above expectations after a cost-cutting program.