Azerbaijan, Baku, Nov. 13 / Trend E. Kosolapova/
Kazakh subsidiary of Sweden-Finnish Telecommunication Company TeliaSonera - Kcell plans to conduct an initial public offering of its shares in the form of global depository receipts (GDRs) in London and a concurrent offering in Kazakhstan in the form of common shares, TeliaSonera reported on Tuesday.
"The offering will comprise of selling the existing shares held by Sonera Holding B.V... in an amount of up to 25 percent of the shares in Kcell," the company said.
"We expect that the IPO will help us to further strengthen our corporate brand and business reputation, improve our access to the international capital markets and help us to grow our business further," Chief Executive Officer Veysel Aral said.
In the first quarter of 2012 Teliasonera acquired 49 percent of the shares in GSM Kazakhstan LLP, operating under the brand Kcell from Kazakhtelecom. Following the deal GSM Kazakhstan LLP is owned by Fintur Holdings (51 percent) and Teliasonera (49 percent). Fintur Holdings B.V. in turn is owned by TeliaSonera (58.55 percent) and Turkcell (41.45 percent). Thus TeliaSonera's effective ownership in Kcell hit 61.74 percent.
