Valued at USD 270 million dollars, an invest consortium consisting of VTB Capital, Alfa Capital Partners and a few private investors including Peter Gerwe, have purchased a 79% stake in News Outdoors, a Russian outdoor advertising firm. The managing director of News Outdoor will retain a 21% share in the company. News Outdoor Group (www.newsoutdoor.com) [...]

Despite official insistence to the contrary, rumors continue to circulate of a possible merger between X5 Retail Group N.V. and other international retailers. In an effort to quell the rumors officials from X5′s primary investor, Alfa Group, issued a stern statement making it very clear they support the current growth of the company and have [...]

Nearly 5 months after requesting permission from Russia’s anti-monopoly authorities, X5 has reached a deal to acquire Kopeika at a cost of USD 1.65 billion in cash and debt. X5 is owned by Alfa Group. The two companies, rivals in Russia’s retail food sector, have been in talks since mid July. Previously Kopeika had been [...]

Russian retailer X5 Group, an Alfa investment, has announced the successful completion of their bid to acquire ZAO Ostrov-Invest (Ostrov). Ostrov is a 16-store retail market chain in the Moscow area, which X5 plans to alter through expansion of some of the stores into supermarkets. Remaining locations will be operated as discount outlets. The company [...]

Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation released its financial report for the 2009/2010 fiscal year late last week, containing statements which imply the possibility that the company may try to sell subsidiaries Fox Mobile and News Outdoor. The report has given rise to speculation that VTB Capital and Alfa Group may be interested in a News Outdoor [...]

Bitter telecom rivals Alfa Group and TeliaSonera have agreed to set aside legal wrangling and combine their holdings in Megafon and Turkcell respectively. The merger would create a new joint-venture company worth more than USD 30 billion which would eventually be listed on the New York Stock Exchange. If the deal proves successful the new [...]

The financially troubled Donetsk steel mill, located in eastern Ukraine, appears headed for a takeover after the mill’s owners failed to repay a bank loan of nearly USD 1 billion. The owners of OOO Estar Holding’s Donetsk Electrometallurgical Plant received the loan from A1, an investment firm which is part of Russian investment conglomerate Alfa [...]

The Alfa Group of Russia, and its Altimo telecommunications subsidiary have sold a portion of their stake in Turkcell, a leading Turkish mobile network company. The sale is equal to about 62.2% of the company, leaving Alfa’s shares at 4.99%. Two buyers, Henri Services Ltd. and Nadash International Holding, combined to make the purchase valued [...]

OOO Agrotorg-Rostov has been wholly acquired by X5 Retail Group N.V., an Alfa Group investment. The agreement gives X5 100% of the assets and business of Agrotorg-Rostov for a sum of USD 15 million. In the deal, X5 also signed a credit agreement for USD 10.6 million to refinance debt owed B.I.N.BANK. The agreement states [...]

Alfa-Bank Russia announced that it has acquired a controlling stake in rival Severnaya Kazna. The company acquired a 75.016% stake in the Urals-based bank and intends to with the Russian Central Bank and the State Agency for Deposit Insurance in an effort to save the struggling institution avoid liquidity and fulfill its obligations to its [...]

Vimpel-Communications, an Alfa-Group Consortum investment, announced that it has acquired a 49.9% stake in Morefront Holdings Ltd. from A&NN Capital Management Fund company Rampert Management Ltd. Morefront Holdings controls 100% of Euroset Group, making VimpelCom a minority shareholder. The purchase price is reported to be approximately USD 226 million, but VimpelCom does not guarantee any [...]

Vimpel Communications (NYSE: VIP) acquired an additional 25% less one share of Limnotex Developments Ltd. for USD 561.8 million. Limnotex is the parent company of LLP KaR-Tel, VimpelCom’s operating subsidiary in Kazakhstan. As of January 10, 2008, Russian Alfa Group Consortium owns 44.0% of Vimpel Communications. LLP KaR-Tel / Limnotex Developments Ltd. The increase in [...]

Alfa Group Consortium portfolio company X5 Retail Group N.V., Russia’s largest food retailer in terms of sales, completed the acquisition Formata Holding B.V., the owner of the Karusel hypermarket chain. Formata Holding B.V. (www.karusel.ru) Format Holding B.V. is the owner of Karusel hypermarket chain. At the end of 2007, Karusel was the fifth largest hypermarket [...]

Turkish cinema and entertainment company AFM Uluslararasi Film Produksiyon Tic. ve San. has concluded its business and investment relationship with AIG Capital Partners. AIG Capital, along with other investors, have sold almost 52% of the company to Alfa-Group Consortium’s A1Group. The deal has been valued near USD 75 million. AFM Cinemas Established in 1965, AFM [...]