Telenor on Monday began the process of selling its shares in VimpelCom, announcing plans to cut its stake to 24.9% from 33% via a public offering in the U.S.
The Norwegian incumbent is putting 142.5 million of its approximately 580 million American Depository Shares (ADSs) in VimpelCom on the block. Telenor said it intends to grant the underwriters an option to buy up to 21.4 million additional ADSs at the public offering price.
The price of the offering has not yet been determined, the telco said in a statement.
When Telenor first announced plans to divest its VimpelCom shares in October 2015, the company valued its 33% stake at around €2.1 billion. Based on that valuation, the 8.1% that Telenor put on the block on Monday could be worth approximately €170 million; however, the final price will be established following the book-building process.
Morgan Stanley and J.P. Morgan will act as joint global coordinators and joint lead bookrunners, while Citigroup and Credit Suisse will act as joint bookrunners for the offering.
Telenor said it may also launch a US$1 billion (€890.5 million), three-year bond exchangeable into VimpelCom ADSs.
Telenor's decision to exit VimpelCom was announced as the latter became the subject of corruption investigations related to its operations in Uzbekistan.
Telenor's exposure to VimpelCom led to the resignation of its chairman and its CFO and general counsel.
While an independent investigation by Deloitte found no evidence of corruption by Telenor executives, it uncovered weaknesses in the company's governance procedures.