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Articles & publications
01.03.2010
Seats assigned: Svyazinvest increases number of directors at cellular subsidiesRBC Daily, Elizaveta Sergina
Ahead of the reorganization Svyaznivest intends to increase the number of its representatives on the boards of directors of its cellular subsidiaries up to 75%. Meanwhile, the lineup of these boards for the first time includes representatives of minority shareholders as of the end of last year. Svyazinvest has promised that the practice of introducing independent directors will continue.
The fact that Svyazinvest intends to raise the numbers of its appointees on the boards of directors of its cellular subsidiaries was reported to RBC Daily by two sources close to the holding. According to one of them, the holding currently names less than 50% of these representatives. “The plan is for the parent company to eventually represent 75% of the directors”, one of the sources says. News about raising the numbers of directors which represent Svyazinvest at its cellular subsidiaries was confirmed by head of the Information Department of Svyazinvest, Igor Pshenichnikov. Svyazinvest’s reorganization strategy provides for all RTO cellular assets to be managed from a single consolidation hub – a managing company. And in the context of strengthening control over our RTO cellular assets through the boards of directors of these companies will be a step in the right direction”, Mr. Pshenichnikov said.
The idea of setting up a managing company which will be in charge of managing the holding’s cellular business was approved by Svyazinvest around the end of last year. Alexey Nichiporenko was appointed as head of the managing company. In addition, cellular assets will not be spun off from RTOs prior to the reorganization, and will remain within the subsidiaries, RBC Daily’s sources emphasized. According to one of the sources, the establishment of a managing company is a technical imperative. “The cellular business needs to be brought to a common denominator”, the source pointed out. RBC Daily’s sources also pint out that as a result of the reorganization the issue of branches managed by the RTO cellular business in the regions will also be resolved. “They will be spun off and then each of the branches will be folded into the respective cellular subsidy of the holding”, sources claim.
Earlier it was assumed that cellular assets would subsequently be consolidated on the basis of Sky Link or Nizhny Novgorod Cellular Communications. The sources do not rule out an alliance with MegaFon, which could also participate in the formation of a “national champion” in the field of telecommunications at a later time.
Deputy executive director of the Investor Protection Association Alexander Shevchuk says that minority shareholders support Svyazinvest’s decision. Investors also favor the idea of installing independent directors on the board of directors of each of the holding’s cellular subsidiaries, he pointed out. “At the end of last year minority representatives were appointed at two companies: Nizhny Novgorod Cellular Communications and Baikalvestcom. Igor Pshenichnikov said that Svyazinvest will continue the practice of appointing independent directors to the boards of directors of its cellular subsidiaries. The holding’s challenge is to make the process of managing cellular assets transparent and compliant with “corporate governance standards”, he noted.
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