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 olga.razumovskaya@dowjones.com
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires