Italy’s state-controlled telecommunications holding company Stet SpA is to play a leading role in Russian telecommunications. It won an investment tender for 25% plus one share of Russian holding company Svyazinvest with a $630m bid, the Russian Privatisation Centre confirmed. The minimum price acceptable had been set at $430m, but as well as paying for the equity, Stet must invest at least $770m in Svyazinvest over the next two years. Svyazinvest, which recently received a long-distance licence from the communications ministry, owns controlling stakes in 85 regional telecommunications companies in Russia. Stet’s rival in the tender was a consortium including France Telecom, Deutsche Telekom and a Russian unit of the US West Inc Baby Bell.
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