Swedish telecom operator TeliaSonera is not interested in expanding into any new regions, at least not as long as CEO Lars Nyberg is at the helm, writes the Wall Street Journal citing Nyberg. The fights for ownership TeliaSonera is facing in its emerging markets such as Russia and Turkey are behind its position. Handling and resolving these conflicts is a top priority for Nyberg and means that the company is putting a cap on further expansions. In Russia, the company has a dispute with Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov over the long-term corporate governance of the country's second largest carrier, Megafon, in which TeliaSonera holds a 44 percent stake. After recent speculation in Russian media that Usmanov may soon get a majority stakeholding in Megafon, by buying the 25 percent stake currently held by Altimo, the telecommunications arm of Russian industrial conglomerate Alfa Group, TeliaSonera last week confirmed that it is in talks with Altimo and Usmanov over the future ownership structure of Megafon. However, the discussions are yet to lead to any agreement. Meanwhile, in Turkey, the company is still struggling to gain control over Turkey's largest carrier, Turkcell Iletisim Hizmetleri. The fact that the company does not have majority shareholdings in these companies is the reason behind the problems TeliaSonera has been facing in both Russia and Turkey, Nyberg says. This means it is unable to prevent actions by rival large shareholders, such as Usmanov in Russia and Karamehmet in Turkey.
