Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld is advising emerging market mobile telecoms operator VimpelCom on its combination with Weather Investments, a transaction that will create the world’s fifth largest mobile telecommunications carrier by subscribers.
The deal was signed on 4 October 2010 and is expected to close subject to certain conditions being met in Q1 2011.
On completion, the enlarged VimpelCom will have operations in 20 countries in Europe, Asia, Africa and North America, with approximately 850 million people living within the coverage area and pro forma net operating revenues of USD21.5bn. The shareholders of Weather Investments will receive 20 per cent of the share capital of the post-acquisition VimpelCom, USD1.8bn in cash and certain assets that will be demerged from the combined group after completion.
VimpelCom’s existing licence portfolio covers the whole of Russia and Ukraine as well as Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Georgia, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Vietnam and Cambodia.
Weather Investments is the holding company for both Orascom Telecom Holding, an Egyptian mobile telecoms company listed on the Egypt and London Stock Exchanges and operating in ten key markets in the Middle East, Africa and Asia, and Wind Telecomunicazioni, an Italian telecoms operator.
The London-based Akin Gump team advising VimpelCom is led by partner Dan Walsh who says: "This is a transformational deal for VimpelCom, bringing it to new markets around the world. We are delighted to advise our long-standing client on one of the most significant telecoms deals of the year."
Cleary Gottlieb is advising Weather Investments along with Lazard Frères and EFG Hermes.
