November 20, 2006 at 15:36Sistema did not try to buy Deutsche Telekom
In an interview with Kommersant, the head of the System Alexander Goncharuk denied the informationthat his holding was in talks to exchange Russian telecom assets for a large stake in the German concern Deutsche Telekom. “We did not conduct negotiations on this subject and did not make any proposals,” said Mr. Goncharuk. “But if you ask my opinion, I’ll say that this deal would be nice for us.” Of course, only if we could take an appropriate position in the share capital and, most importantly, in the management of Deutsche Telekom. ” He noted that the position of a portfolio investor for Sistema is unacceptable: “If it were to take a blocking stake of 20-25% in Deutsche Telekom, taking into account the structure of share capital in the company, it would be very interesting ... But, from my point of view, such a situation is almost unbelievable. "
Alexander Goncharuk explained why the rumors about a possible deal between the two sides did not receive a sharp rebuttal: “We were interested in the reaction of the Western business and investment community. And, to our surprise, we saw that the reaction was positive. It came to the point that in the prime time German television there was direct televised debate on this issue: the Russian corporation is going to Germany - is it good or bad? And there was no such summary: the Russians are coming - save yourself, who can! ”
“By the way,” the head of the holding adds, “after rumors about a possible deal with Sistema appeared, the shares of the German concern rose in price.”
Alexander Goncharuk explained why the rumors about a possible deal between the two sides did not receive a sharp rebuttal: “We were interested in the reaction of the Western business and investment community. And, to our surprise, we saw that the reaction was positive. It came to the point that in the prime time German television there was direct televised debate on this issue: the Russian corporation is going to Germany - is it good or bad? And there was no such summary: the Russians are coming - save yourself, who can! ”
“By the way,” the head of the holding adds, “after rumors about a possible deal with Sistema appeared, the shares of the German concern rose in price.”