CEO, Chairman of the Board and Independent Directors selected for
VimpelCom Ltd.
(Thomson Reuters ONE) - (Fornebu/Norway and Moscow/Russia - 30 November 2009) Telenor andAltimo have agreed to appoint Alexander Izosimov as the CEO ofVimpelCom Ltd. Jo Lunder will be the Chairman of the Board ofDirectors. Mr. Lunder, Mr. Leonid Novoselsky and Dr. Hans PeterKohlhammer will be the independent members of VimpelCom Ltd.'s Boardof Directors.On 5 October 2009, Telenor ASA and Altimo Holdings & Investments Ltd.announced their agreement to combine their common assets in Ukrainianmobile operator Kyivstar and Russian mobile operator OJSC VimpelComin a newly formed Bermuda company, VimpelCom Ltd., which will beheadquartered in the Netherlands. Today, Telenor and Altimo announcethat they have selected candidates to fill VimpelCom Ltd.'sleadership positions: Alexander V. Izosimov, presently non-executivePresident of OJSC VimpelCom, will be appointed as VimpelCom Ltd.'sPresident and CEO, and Jo Lunder will become an independent directorand Chairman of VimpelCom Ltd.'s Board. Leonid Novoselsky and Dr.Hans Peter Kohlhammer will become independent members of VimpelComLtd.'s Board of Directors.Jon Fredrik Baksaas, President and CEO of Telenor, said:"It is with great confidence that we announce two such prominent andexperienced people, Alexander Izosimov and Jo Lunder, to head our newunited company. They both have unique knowledge of the mobilebusiness and will be beneficial for the future prosperous developmentof the new company. Both have contributed substantially to makingOJSC VimpelCom one of Europe's leading mobile operators. When Telenorfirst invested in VimpelCom in 1998, the company had a mere 300,000customers, a number which today exceeds 65 million. From being asmall Moscow-based operator, OJSC VimpelCom now has operations innine countries in addition to Russia. Alexander Izosimov and JoLunder have contributed greatly to this success, and together theywill create a continued success story from our new base in theNetherlands."Alexei Reznikovich, CEO of Altimo, commented:"It the present phase, when we are about to embark on this newexciting venture, it is extremely important that we emphasize thecontinuation of present successes. This is one major reason why wehave chosen Jo Lunder and Alexander Izosimov to take on thedevelopment of our new jointly-owned mobile telecoms operator,VimpelCom Ltd. They have a unique track record of success and it iswith trust that we wish them all the best in their efforts to developthis new creation of ours into a leading emerging markets mobileoperator."Chairman of the BoardJo Lunder is currently the Executive Vice President of FERD, one ofNorway's largest privately-owned financial and industrial groups.Previously, Mr. Lunder served as the Chief Executive Officer of AteaASA, one of Europe's largest IT-infrastructure companies listed onthe Oslo Stock Exchange. Prior to that, he served as ManagingDirector of Telenor Privat and Vice Managing Director of TelenorMobil. Mr Lunder has been a member of the OJSC VimpelCom Board ofDirectors since May 2002. During his tenure at OJSC VimpelCom, Mr.Lunder served as Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer, andChief Operating Officer. In addition, Mr. Lunder currently serves asChairman of the Aibel Group of Companies, the second largest Nordicoil and gas services company, Chairman of Elopak AS, the world'sthird largest liquid carton packaging company, and Chairman of SwixSport AS, a global supplier of winter clothing and skiing equipment.Mr. Lunder earned a B.A. degree from Oslo Business School and holdsan MBA from Henley Management College (UK). Mr. Lunder is 48 yearsold and is a Norwegian citizen.President and CEOAlexander Izosimov served as OJSC VimpelCom's Chief Executive Officerand General Director from October 2003 until April 2009. Mr. Izosimovcurrently is the Chairman of the Board of GSM Association and serveson the Boards of Directors of Baltika Breweries Plc., MTG AB andDynasty Foundation. Mr. Izosimov also is a member of the Council onCompetitiveness and Entrepreneurship in Russia. Prior to joining OJSCVimpelCom, Mr. Izosimov held senior positions with Mars, Inc. [inMoscow] and McKinsey & Company in Stockholm and London. Mr. Izosimovhas a M.S. degree from the Moscow Aviation Institute and an MBA fromINSEAD. Mr. Izosimov is 46 years old, and is a Russian citizen.Independent DirectorsVimpelCom Ltd.'s Board will consist of nine directors, three of whomwill be appointed by each of Telenor and Alfa and three of whom willbe independent. In addition to Mr. Lunder, the VimpelCom Ltd.'sindependent directors will consist of the following people:Leonid NovoselskyLeonid Novoselsky has been a director of OJSC VimpelCom since June2006. He is a co-founder and the General Director of the GradientGroup. Mr. Novoselsky also has served as General Director of LLC"Arbat Prestige Gradient" since 2005 and a founding member of LLC"Trade House "Symposium" since 2007. From September 2008, Mr.Novoselsky has served as a director of OJSC "Protec", one of thelargest pharmaceutical distributors in Russia. Mr. Novoselskygraduated from the Moscow Institute of Steel and Alloys and has anMBA from the University of Pennsylvania Wharton Business School. Mr.Novoselsky is 39 years old, and is a Russian citizen.Dr. Hans Peter KohlhammerHans Peter Kohlhammer has been a director of OJSC VimpelCom sinceJune 2008. Dr. Kohlhammer has been the Chief Executive Officer ofKohlhammer Consulting since August 2006 and served as the ChiefExecutive Officer of Broadnet AG in Hamburg from December 2006 toOctober 2007. From 2003 to 2006, Dr. Kohlhammer was the ChiefExecutive Officer and Director General of the telecom company SITA SCin Geneva. From 2001 until 2003, Dr. Kohlhammer was the Presidentand Chief Executive Officer of Grundig AG. Dr. Kohlhammer has a Ph.D.degree in Mathematics from Bonn University. Dr. Kohlhammer is 62years old, and is a German citizen.Notes to EditorsPhotosHigh resolution photos of Mr. Lunder, Mr. Kohlhammer and Mr.Novoselsky may be downloaded from:http://www.vimpelcom.com/people/directors.wbp.A photo of Mr. Izosimov can be downloaded from:http://www.telenor.com/downloads/20091129/alexander-izosimov.jpgBackgroundVimpelCom Ltd. will be a leading mobile operator in Russia, Ukraineand the CIS, with a significant presence in Southeast Asia. VimpelComLtd. will seek to expand its operations in other rapidly developingmarkets in Europe, Asia and Africa, becoming one of the world'sleading players in the industry. VimpelCom Ltd. is incorporated inBermuda and will be headquartered in the Netherlands and listed onthe NYSE.Subject to receiving the required regulatory and other approvals,VimpelCom Ltd. intends to make an offer whereby OJSC VimpelCom sharesand ADRs will be exchanged for Depositary Receipts ("DRs")representing shares in VimpelCom Ltd. (the "Exchange Offer").Immediately following the successful completion of the ExchangeOffer, Telenor and Altimo will contribute their respectiveshareholdings in Kyivstar in exchange for shares in VimpelCom Ltd.The parties expect to complete the proposed Exchange Offer and theother related transactions by mid-2010, following which VimpelComLtd. intends to delist OSJC VimpelCom's securities from the New YorkStock Exchange and the Russian Trading System.The Telenor Group is an international provider of high qualitytelephony, data and media communication services with mobileoperations in 13 markets across the Nordic region, Central andEastern Europe and in Asia. Headquartered in Norway, the TelenorGroup is among the largest mobile operators in the world with over160 million mobile subscriptions, revenues in 2008 of NOK 110billion, and a workforce of more than 40,000.Altimo specializes in telecoms investments in Russia, the CIS andAsia. Its stakes include: 44% of the voting interest in VimpelCom,one of Russia's two biggest mobile phone companies (NYSE: VIP); 25.1%of MegaFon, the third largest GSM provider in Russia; 43.5% ofKyivstar, Ukraine's largest mobile phone company; and 4.99% ofTurkcell, Turkey's largest mobile company (NYSE: TKC). Together,Altimo's investee companies serve more than 160 million mobile phonesubscribers.Cautionary statement regarding forward-looking statementsThis announcement contains "forward-looking statements" within themeaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historicalfacts, including statements concerning the anticipated timing offilings and approvals relating to the proposed transactions; theexpected timing of the completion of the proposed transactions; theexpected benefits and costs of the proposed transactions; managementplans relating to the proposed transactions; the ability to completethe proposed transactions in view of the various closing conditions;the possibility that the proposed transactions may not be completed,any projections of earnings, revenues, synergies, accretion, marginsor other financial items; any statements of operations, including theexecution of integration plans; any statements of expectation orbelief; and any statements of assumptions underlying any of theforegoing. Any statement in this announcement that expresses orimplies Telenor or Altimo's intentions, beliefs, expectations orpredictions (and the assumptions underlying them) is aforward-looking statement. Forward-looking statements involveinherent risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including, withoutlimitation, risks related to the timing or ultimate completion of theproposed transactions; the possibility that expected benefits may notmaterialize as expected; that, prior to the completion of theproposed transactions, OJSC VimpelCom's business or Kyivstar'sbusiness may not perform as expected due to uncertainty; that theparties are unable to successfully implement integration strategiesor otherwise realize the synergies anticipated for the proposedtransactions; and other risks and uncertainties that are beyond theparties' control. If such risks or uncertainties materialize or suchassumptions prove incorrect, actual results could differ materiallyfrom those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statementsand assumptions. The forward-looking statements contained in thisannouncement are made as of the date hereof, and Telenor and Altimoeach expressly disclaim any obligation to update or correct anyforward-looking statements made herein due to the occurrence ofevents after the issuance of this announcement.Important Additional InformationThis announcement is for informational purposes only and is not anoffer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to purchase or exchangeany securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities, in anyjurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would beunlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securitieslaws of any such jurisdiction. The publication or distribution ofthis announcement and any separate documentation regarding theintended offer, the making of the intended offer or the issuance andoffer to purchase OJSC VimpelCom shares may be subject to specificregulations or restrictions in certain jurisdictions. As a result,persons in possession of this announcement must seek information asto any applicable local restrictions and comply therewith. NeitherTelenor, Altimo nor any of their respective affiliates undertake anyliability of any kind for any violation of applicable law. Thesolicitation and the offer to purchase shares of OJSC VimpelCom'scommon stock or preferred stock or ADRs representing shares of OJSCVimpelCom's common stock will only be made pursuant to an offer topurchase and related materials that are intended to be filed with theSEC and a voluntary tender offer statement prepared in compliancewith applicable Russian law.Telenor and Altimo intend for VimpelCom Ltd. to file a registrationstatement and tender offer statement, together with other relatedmaterials, with the SEC in connection with the proposedtransactions. Information regarding the participants in the proposedoffer and a description of their direct and indirect interests, bysecurity holdings or otherwise, will be contained in the relevantmaterials to be filed with the SEC when they become available.TELENOR AND ALTIMO URGE OJSC VIMPELCOM SHAREHOLDERS TO READ THESEMATERIALS REGARDING THE POTENTIAL OFFER CAREFULLY PRIOR TO MAKING ANYDECISIONS WITH RESPECT TO THE OFFER, IF AND WHEN THESE MATERIALSBECOME AVAILABLE, BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION,INCLUDING THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THE PROPOSED OFFER.OJSC VimpelCom shareholders will be able to obtain a free copy ofsuch materials without charge at the SEC's website(http://www.sec.gov) or from the information agent named in suchmaterials once they have been filed with the SEC.For further information, please contact:Telenor: Dag Melgaard,Communication Manager,(+47) 901 92 000,dag.melgaard(at)telenor.comAltimo: Kirill Babaev,Senior Vice President+7 4959814452,babaev(at)altimo.ruThis announcement was originally distributed by Hugin. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
Datum: 30.11.2009 - 08:00 Uhr
Sprache: Deutsch
News-ID 8985
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