Telenor has stepped up its campaign against VimpelCom’s acquisition of Wind Telecom by requesting that the Russian carrier be forced to issue pre-emptive shares if the deal goes ahead.
The Norwegian operator petitioned the Commercial Court in London for the short-term injunction as part of its fight against the deal, which it claims doesn’t offer shareholders good value because Wind will end up with more voting rights than shares in VimpelCom.
Telenor asked the court to place its pre-emptive shares in escrow until an arbitration tribunal – initiated last week – is completed. That tribunal will issue a decision on whether the Wind deal automatically triggers the pre-emptive share issue by not being counted as a related merger and acquisition transaction.
If it loses the tribunal, Telenor will return the shares to VimpelCom to be canceled.
Spokesman Dag Melgaard said the carrier believes its proposal to the London court “is a fair and equitable solution that will preserve the status quo while the arbitration is ongoing.”