In August, the Court of Appeal in New York granted a lawsuit filed by Telenor and obliged Altimo to sell its shares in Kyivstar to a non-affiliated party or stakes of more than 5% in Kyivstar's rival cell phone operators Turkcell (which holds shares in Ukrainian mobile operator Astelit) and Ukrainian High Technologies.
The court ruling on Ukraine's Kyivstar is the latest step in a long-running dispute between the two main shareholders in Russia's second-largest mobile operator VimpelCom - Norway's Telenor and Russia's Alfa Group - over VimpelCom's move into the Ukrainian market.
Telenor had resisted buying into Kyivstar, as it put VimpelCom in direct competition with the Norwegian company's other interests in Ukraine.
In compliance with the New York arbitration award, Alfa Group's stake in Ukrainian High Technologies has been reduced to zero and Alfa's stake in Ukrainian mobile provider Astelit has been brought below 5%, the level permitted under the Kiyvstar shareholders' agreement, Altimo said.
Altimo also said it had withdrawn all previous claims filed by its subsidiaries to Ukrainian courts and had instructed Storm, its Ukrainian affiliate and a direct stakeholder in Kyivstar, to attend all shareholders' meetings convened for Kyivstar. Previously, Storm representatives ignored meetings convened by Kyivstar's board of directors and shareholders.
Kyivstar is a leading mobile operator in Ukraine covering territory that is home to 97% of the population. Telenor has 56.51% in the company and Altimo holds 43.49%.
