Ukrtelecom to sell off mobile arm

Ukrtelecom Set to Sell Its Mobile Business, Interfax Reports - Bloomberg

Bloomberg and other news sources are quoting Interfax Ukraine as a source claiming that Ukrtelecom have confirmed their intent to spin off the mobile side of their telecoms business.

Having trawled through the Interfax site the best reference we found is http://www.interfax.com.ua/eng/eco/70271/, being an article from June 2nd stating that the board would meet June 14th to discuss the move. To note there is no release on either Ukrtelecom's site or within Interfax Ukraine confirming the outcome of this meeting.

TeleGeography is quoting a local source valuing the sell off at USD 200 million.

Top 3 UK MNOs sideline Three from new mobile marketing and payments venture

Everything Everywhere, Telefónica UK and Vodafone UK to form mobile marketing and payments joint venture - Vodafone

Everything Everywhere, Telefónica UK and Vodafone UK today announced plans to create a standalone m-commerce joint venture (JV). The new entity, the first of its kind in the UK, will bring together the expertise and technology of the UK’s leading mobile operators, enabling the rapid development and delivery of new mobile marketing and payment services.

The JV will provide a single contact for advertisers, marketing partners, retailers and banks making it far easier to create m-commerce products and services. The JV will be open and available to all industry participants, maximising benefits to consumers.

The JV is subject to competition clearance and is aiming to launch before the end of the year.

Tom Alexander, CEO of Everything Everywhere, commented: "This groundbreaking new business will unlock the true potential of commerce in the wire-free world."

Ronan Dunne, Chief Executive Officer of Telefónica UK, said: “We are seeing an explosion in the m-commerce market. Mobile advertising spend alone has more than doubled in two years as consumers embrace marketing on their handsets because it is now relevant to them and provides a great customer experience."

Guy Laurence, Chief Executive Officer of Vodafone UK, said: "Since Vodafone made the first ever call just 26 years ago, mobile phones have transformed people’s lives. Along the way, the mobile phone has become the one item people really cannot be without. It is the first thing they reach for in the morning and the last thing they check at night. Over recent years it has integrated new gadgets such as digital cameras and music players as they have become popular. The new generation of smartphones is even taking on desktop PC by providing internet on the move and removing the need to be in the home or office.

MegaFon's Kai-Uwe Mehlhorn resigns

MegaFon Announces Resignation of Kai-Uwe Mehlhorn / MegaFon corporate

JSC MegaFon announced the resignation of CFO Kai-Uwe Mehlhorn, effective June 16, 2011.

"I sincerely thank Kai-Uwe for his highly professional approach to work, devotion and commitment. He managed to create a great world-class team, able to solve problems however complicated and contributed significantly to MegaFon’s success. I’d like to wish Kai-Uwe Mehlhorn new successes in his career and interesting, ambitious projects." said Sergei Soldatenkov, JSC MegaFon CEO.

Kai-Uwe Mehlhorn served for two years as MegaFon CFO, working on improving budget management processes, financial control and corporate reporting.

Kai-Uwe Mehlhorn studied at Martin-Luther-Universität (Halle, Germany) and in 1992 at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations in the Economics and Foreign Trade faculty. Before joining MegaFon, Kai-Uwe was with Tele 2 Russia as CFO from August 2007-January 2009. Previously, he worked for 15 years at Siemens in various divisions.

Raymond Ho, MegaFon’s finance director, is to take Mehlhorn’s place as temporary CFO."

Vivendi takes Vodafone's 44% stake in SFR

Vodafone Announces Completion of the Disposal of its Stake in SFR | Acquisition of 44% Stake in SFR

Vivendi today completed the acquisition of Vodafone’s 44% stake in SFR. The Group has achieved its strategic objective to own 100% of SFR. The amount of the transaction is €7,950 million. Additionally, SFR and Vodafone are extending their commercial co-operation for a further three years. This transaction is in line with the agreement announced on April the 4th, 2011 and has been completed within the requested deadline.

Poland's Polkomtel could go for USD 6.6 bln

Solorz-Zak Said to Lead Polkomtel Sale With $6.6 Billion Bid - Businessweek

Polkomtel, 1 of the top 3 MNOs in Poland, is in the process of changing owners. There are currently 3 leading bids of which the forerunner appears to be from Zygmunt Solorz-Zak, a billionaire who owns cable operator Cyfrowy Polsat S.A.

Gaining access to an MNO would certainly be handy for the billionaire as Cyfrowy currently operates as an MVNO, via an agreement signed with Era back in 2006 (according to The MVNO Directory).