Russian Supreme Court Accepts Telenor's Request and Helps Restore
Corporate Governance in VimpelCom
FORNEBU, Norway, April 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- In response to a request
filed by Telenor (NASDAQ:TELN) East Invest AS, the Russian Supreme Court today
delivered to Telenor an order that will help restore corporate governance in
VimpelCom, the Russian mobile operator in which Telenor owns 26.6 percent of
the voting shares.
The order provided to Telenor states that Russia's highest court has stayed
enforcement of a lower court decision that, if upheld, would have suspended the
super-majority voting provisions in VimpelCom's charter applicable to decisions
of VimpelCom's board of directors on strategic issues, including acquisitions.
The order also says that Supreme Court will now take jurisdiction of the case.
"We are pleased that Russia's highest court has assumed responsibility for this
matter and look forward to a final resolution which will reaffirm the legality
of VimpelCom's charter," said Telenor spokesman Dag Melgaard. "We believe the
Supreme Court's decision today confirms our view that there were gross
violations of law in the lower court rulings." Telenor filed a petition with the Supreme Court on February 10, 2005 requesting
review of a January judgment by a Krasnodar district court that changed the
voting threshold by which certain strategic decisions, including acquisitions,
are made, from a super-majority to a simple majority.
The judgment resulted from a suit filed by a shareholder residing in rural
Temruk in the Krasnodar region who acquired two shares of common stock in
VimpelCom two days before the legal action. The plaintiff, Victor Makarenko,
also requested in a separate lawsuit against VimpelCom that the Krasnodar
Arbitration Court acknowledge the validity of a proposed acquisition by
VimpelCom of the number-four Ukrainian cellular operator, Ukrainian Radio
Systems (trade-named WellCom).
Telenor's petition to the Supreme Court stated, among other things, that there
had been gross violations of elementary legal procedures in the case, including
that the Temruk district court had no jurisdiction whatever in the matter.
"We are encouraged by the Supreme Court's decision, which indicates that the
Russian judicial system ultimately can be relied upon to restore legal order in
commercial conflicts," said Mr. Melgaard. "We shall continue to put our faith
in the system. Telenor is determined to continue to offer our unique emerging
markets expertise to Russia's telecommunications industry," said Mr. Melgaard.
"We are dedicated to maximizing shareholder value, providing top quality
service to customers, and delivering the maximum benefit to Russian society at
large." Further information: Chief Press Spokesman Telenor ASA, Dag Melgaard, Tel (+47) 901 92 000 DATASOURCE: Telenor CONTACT: Dag Melgaard, Chief Press Spokesman of Telenor ASA, +47-901-92-000 Web site: http://www.telenor.com/
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