MegaFon raises $ 1.7 billion in IPO
MOSCOW: MegaFon, Russia's second-largest mobile phone operator, raised $ 1.7 billion in its initial public offering in Moscow and London yesterday in the biggest floatation by a Russian company in three years. MegaFon, the last of Russia's big three mobile companies to hold an IPO, said yesterday that it had sold 15 percent of its stock at $ 20 a share — at the bottom end of its target range. The flotation values the company below analyst expectations at $ 11.1 billion. MegaFon stock will be traded in the form of shares in Moscow and global depositary receipts in London. The Moscow-based company's listing is the biggest by a Russian company since aluminum producer Rusal went public in Hong Kong in 2009, raising $ 2.2 billion. MegaFon, which is largely focused on the Russian market, is controlled by a holding company of Russian tycoon Alisher Usmanov which owns 55.8 percent, while Sweden's TeliaSonera has 29 percent. Usmanov is Russia's richest man, estimated to be worth $ 18 billion.
Costco plans cash dividend of $ 7 per share
Costco says it will pay shareholders a special dividend of $ 7 per share next month in addition to the wholesale club operator's regular quarterly dividend. The Issaquah, Wash., company says the dividend will be payable Dec. 18 to shareholders of record Dec. 10. Costco Wholesale Corp.'s regular quarterly dividend of 27.5 cents per share will be paid Nov. 30 to shareholders of record as of Nov. 16. Many companies are adjusting their dividend payouts because investors may have to pay higher taxes next year. Investors have paid a maximum 15 percent on dividends since 2003. But that historically low rate will expire in January unless Congress and President Barack Obama reach a compromise on taxes and government spending. Costco's shares rose $ 4.49, or 4.7 percent, to $ 101 in premarket trading.
Getco makes $ 3.50 per share bid for Knight Capital
NEW YORK: Getco is making a cash-and-stock bid for troubled trading firm Knight Capital that it values at $ 3.50 per share. In a letter to City, N.J.-based Knight Capital, Getco Holding Co. says the acquisition would involve a two-step process in which 242 million new shares would be issued, followed by a tender offer for an additional 154 million shares. Getco already owns about 31 percent of Knight's outstanding shares. Knight suffered a trading glitch in August that sent markets reeling and cost the company more than $ 460 million. Getco, in a regulatory filing said that CEO Daniel Coleman would lead the new company, and Knight CEO Tom Joyce would become non-executive chairman.
Telenor refuses to comment on merger talk
NEW DELHI: Norway's Telenor refused to comment yesterday on reports it is in talks to merge its Indian operations with local firm Tata Teleservices to enlarge its presence in the vast mobile phone market. Media reports have said the state-run Norwegian firm, the largest phone operator in the Nordic region, is seeking a majority stake in the proposed merged group. "Telenor Group never comments on rumors or speculation," a spokesman said, while Tata Teleservices could not immediately be reached for comment. Telenor won the right to operate in six Indian cellular zones in an auction earlier this month after India's Supreme Court cancelled its previous 13 permits due to alleged irregularities in the 2008 bidding process. Tata Teleservices — part of the tea-to-steel Tata conglomerate -- has licenses to operate in all of India's 22 mobile zones, making it an attractive partner for Telenor. A deal between Telenor and India's Tata would mean the Tata Group would reduce its holding in unlisted Tata Teleservices, the country's sixth largest mobile phone operator by number of subscribers, the reports said.
