Altimo vs. Ipoc: it's all over

The bitter battle for control over a 25.1 per cent chunk of Russia’s smallest mobile operator MegaFon looks to be over, according to reports on Monday.

It is believed that Russian conglomerate Altimo, originally known as the Alfa Group, has buried the hatchet with Caribbean-based investment fund Ipoc.

Ipoc had contested Alfa’s purchase of the 25 per cent stake since the transaction took place in 2003. the company insisted it had pre-emptive rights to buy the holding in MegaFon, and that Alfa/Altimo entered into an illegitimate deal whilst in possession of this information.

The MegaFon stake had essentially been tied up for more of this time in court orders, preventing either party from doing anything with it.

Now Altimo is understood to hold the 25.1 per cent stake, while Ipoc holds 39.3 per cent of the Russian cellco via another holding company, Telecominvest.

It is understood that Ipoc is negotiating the sale of its holding to Russian businessman Alisher Usmanov and that cooling the conflict with Altimo was part of the deal.

Some believe the end of the legal hostilities could also pave the way for an IPO of MegaFon.