VimpelCom completes Unitel acquisition

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has announced the completion of the sale of Unitel, the second largest mobile operator in Uzbekistan, to VimpelCom of Russia. The sale price was USD200 million plus assumption of net debt. The EBRD was the smallest shareholder in the equity consortium selling the company.; the others were Germanos SA, a Greek retail network of mobile service and equipment centres, and its leading shareholder Mr Panos Germanos. Unitel holds national GSM-900 and 1800 licences and at the end of December had 364,000 subscribers, representing a 32% share of the Uzbek market.