State Stake in Rostelecom May Be Sold To Domestic Competitors-Report

   By Olga Razumovskaya 

MOSCOW--The state's 55.6% stake in the Russia's state-controlled telecomminications company Rostelecom (RTKM.RS) may be sold to the 'big three' domestic competitors - Mobile TeleSystems (MBT), Vimpelcom (VIP) and MegaFon (MFON.MZ), bypassing foreign investors, Russian business daily Kommersant reported Wednesday, citing an unnamed high-ranking government official.

"We wanted to create another player in addition to the 'big three'," Kommersant quoted the official as saying.

"But we can go for a compromise," the official was quoted as saying, adding Rostelecom could be sold to the 'big three.'"

In late April Russia's first deputy prime minister, Igor Shuvalov, said that the government may sell its entire stake in Rostelecom for at least $5 billion in 2013

Rostelecom's spokeswoman and MegaFon's spokeswoman declined to comment.

"If there are offers, we will look into them," MTS's spokeswoman told Dow Jones Newswires.

Vimpelcom's spokesman couldn't be immediately reached for comment.

Newspaper website: kommersant.ru.

Write to Olga Razumovskaya at [e-mail]

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