Dutch telecommunications company KPN is ready to sell its shares in Ukrainian long-distance provider Utel, but wants to retain its stake in lucrative mobile phone provider Ukrainian Mobile Communications (UMC), the company’s chairman said on Nov. 23.
Wim Dik was in Kyiv to conduct talks with the Ukrainian government over KPN’s future in the Ukrainian market in general, and the UMC joint venture in particular.
KPN officials last month claimed that the Ukrainian majority shareholder in the company, Ukrtelecom, was plotting to seize management control of UMC.
KPN officials said Ukrtelecom was attempting to appoint its own representatives to key positions in the company, in breach of the company’s founding agreement, which stipulated that the joint venture would be run by its Western shareholders.
‘We are having a dialogue with the government about that. And there is a great deal of mutual understanding,’ Dik said.
‘But what is the most important for us is that whatever happens, we remain undisturbed in management control,’ he added.
KPN, Denmark’s Tele Danmark and Deutsche Telecom all own 16.3 percent stakes in UMC.
However, KPN said it has decided to sell its shares in Utel, where it also has a 10 percent stake. Marten Pieters, KPN’s executive vice president, said his company is waiting for the Ukrainian government to free up funds to buy out the KPN stake in Utel.
Government officials said earlier Ukraine would need about $100 million to buy out foreign stakes in Utel. They said the government was in talks with domestic and foreign banks with the aim of securing the loans.
