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Мы в СМИ17.09.2012 PRIME: FOCUS: MegaFon, VimpelCom ownership of Euroset may spark tensionSvetlana Shcheglova Two major Russian mobile operators MegaFon and VimpelCom are expected to share the ownership of large cellular phone retail chain Euroset on a parity basis. According to market experts, the partnership will improve the positions of both companies in the retail segment, but it may also lead to severe tensions between the owners and have a negative impact on the chain’s business. Euroset’s shareholders agreed to sell half of the cell phone retail chain owned by businessman Alexander Mamut to MegaFon, a source close to the shareholders said. Business daily Vedomosti reported that MegaFon and companies affiliated with the operator’s major shareholder Alisher Usmanov are expected to buy a 50.0% stake in Euroset from Mamut. The daily noted that the purchase, which is seen completed within the upcoming two weeks, could be partly paid with a stake in Internet holding SUP Fabrik owning blogging Web site Livejournal.com. Usmanov and Mamut now hold equal stakes in SUP Fabrik. Then, VimpelCom will buy the remaining 0.1% Mamut’s stake in Euroset to increase its interest in the retailer to 50.0% from the current 49.9%. According to sources familiar with the matter, Mamut valued Euroset at around U.S. $2.3–2.4 billion, Vedomosti said then. The deal is to significantly improve MegaFon’s retail capacities, VTB Capital analyst Ivan Kim said in a research note. In late March, Euroset said that it had increased the number of retail outlets in Russia to 5,260 units. In Belarus, Euroset now operates 80 cell phone stores. As of late 2011, MegaFon’s retail monobrand chain comprised around 1,586 company-owned and 1,900 franchise outlets, delivering sales and customer services nationwide, the operator said in its annual report. Kim from VTB Capital noted that the partnership between MegaFon and VimpelCom could shake mobile giant MTS’ position on the retail market, as MTS is likely to lose Euroset distribution capacities. «However, given the fact that MTS presently sells up to 40%–45% of its contracts through the monobrand chain, which is expected to be expanded in future, we believe this loss won’t be crucial for the company,» Kim said. According to MTS, its retail chain comprised of 2,460 company-owned stores and 1,690 franchises as of late 2011. Euroset’s previous shareholder structure, with Mamut owning a controlling stake in the chain, did not allow VimpelCom to fully unlock its retail capacities, Kim from VTB Capital also said. He added that VimpelCom’s sales through Euroset fell below expectations, accounting for 18% of the total sales, while VimpelCom still shares the revenue with the retailer. «We think that the situation may improve after the deal with MegaFon and Mamut is concluded,» Kim said. Investcafe analyst Ilya Rachenkov agreed saying that if MegaFon and VimpelCom change Euroset’s product range to meet their needs, the purchase will be a good addition to the operators’ own retail chains. VimpelCom now operates 2,836 retail outlets, including 221 company-owned shops. Rachenkov said that now only monobrand retail chains allow operators to attract a high-quality subscriber base. By making up a range of products and services offered in the retail shops, the operators can increase the sales of smartphones and USB-modems to boost the number of mobile data transfer users, which could result in the growth of operators’ average revenue per user (ARPU), Rachenkov said, adding that VimpelCom has the smallest share of revenue from mobile Internet services among Russia’s Big Three mobile operators. «Russian mobile operators mainly rely on monobrand mobile shop chains,» Yury Bryukvin, CEO of St. Petersburg-based information analysis agency Rustele.com, said. MTS has built the largest monobrand chain, which attracts high-quality subscribers and effectively sells phones, while MegaFon and VimpelCom are in the role of followers, Bryukvin said. Bryukvin said he does not rule out the possibility that Euroset could cease to exist as an independent retailer in the medium term. «In this case, the retailer’s outlets could be divided between the shareholders,» Bryukvin said. «We can assume that Euroset will be gradually reorganized into the monobrand retail businesses of VimpelCom and MegaFon,» Rachenkov from Investcafe said. This could have a powerful positive effect on VimpelCom, as Euroset is the last distributor to which the operator allocates fixed fees for an attracted subscriber base, he added. «VimpelCom may get a chance to improve its profitability at the expense of Euroset,» Rachenkov concluded. Rachenkov warned that an ownership structure with two shareholders with equal shares could result in hard-to-solve disagreements and conflicts that may adversely impact the retailer. «No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate one, and love the other,» Bryukvin from Rustele.com said quoting the New Testament. Therefore, it will be hard for Euroset’s managers to please the two shareholders – each of the owners of the retailer will think that its partner gets higher quality subscribers, Bryukvin said. He added that in this scenario, Euroset’s management could constantly be in flux, which could impact the retailer negatively. Bryukvin expressed his confidence that in the short term Euroset will continue operating as a somewhat independent retail chain. «In our opinion, Euroset is only valuable if it continues to operate as an independent company,» analysts of investment company Metropol said in a research note. Metropol analysts said that the division of Euroset's assets between VimpelCom and MegaFon will lead to a loss of most of the goodwill that was connected to the purchase of Euroset, as the retailer’s price, in their view, is mainly supported by the value of Euroset’s brand. «It is difficult to predict what would happen if two competing companies own the retailer,» Metropol analysts said. Rachenkov from Investcafe said that a parity ownership is seen to be the only viable shareholder structure of Euroset under the MegaFon–VimpelCom partnership. Under this principle, none of the operators will have to consolidate the results of the retailer - whose profitability is significantly lower compared to any telecommunications company - into the financial reports, Rachenkov said. However, sources familiar with the matter said that Usmanov had decided to take part in the purchase to protect MegaFon from having to consolidate the results of the retailer in its financial reports, Vedomosti reported on September 14. According to the sources, MegaFon could buy only 25% in Euroset, while the remaining 25% may be acquired by USM Advisers owned by Usmanоv. MegaFon’s representatives and Usmanov declined to comment. Turning to the price of the deal, Rachenkov said that MegaFon is likely to require a certain discount, or it could use a stake in the holding company Garsdale, established in July through a merger between MegaFon and wireless broadband operator Scartel to pay for the stake in Euroset. Federal Antimonopoly Service Director Igor Artemyev told reporters on September 12 that the regulator has mixed thoughts about the proposed deal and will examine it in detail. In addition, Artemyev said that MegaFon had not submitted any motions with the antitrust service. «We will examine this deal closely as the decision is not obvious for us,» Artemyev said. |
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