Vimpelcom has agreed to buy the Russian operator New Telephone Company (NTC) for USD 420 million from Korea's KT and Sumitomo. NTC is a leading mobile operator in the Primorskiy region of Russia and provides voice and data services including fixed broadband, IPTV and VoIP. In 2010, NTC recorded RUR 3.4 billion in revenues and had a mobile subscriber base of approximately 950,000. Vimpelcom said it expects to acquire 90 percent of NTC within four weeks and then launch a tender offer for the remaining 10 percent, which should be completed in Q3. KT sold its 79.96 percent stake to Vimpelcom for USD 346 million. KT acquired the stake in New Telephone in 1997 for USD 22 million. Proceeds from the deal will be used for investments in Latin America and Africa, as well as Central and Eastern Europe, KT said.
