Russian investor Alfa Group is planning to combine its minority stakes in Russian mobile operator Megafon and Turkey's Turkcell into a single company, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing Alexei Reznikovich, CEO of Alfa's telecoms unit. Swedish operator TeliaSonera, currently a shareholder in both Megafon and Turkcell, would get a minority stake alongside Alfa and other shareholders, Reznikovich added. According to the Alfa executive, a merger of Megafon and Turkcell assets would create a company worth around USD 30 billion, and nearly USD 50 billion when international markets recover. Norwegian telecoms group Telenor and Russia's Alfa Group recently ended a five-year legal dispute with a deal to merge their telecom holdings in Russia and Ukraine. Alfa and Telenor will merge their holdings in Russia and Ukraine into a Netherlands-headquartered company called Vimpelcom. Neither side will have control over the new company, which will be listed in the US.
