Svyazinvest


OJSC Svyazinvest was Russia's largest telecommunications holding company. Based in Moscow, it was founded according to Order №1297 of the Russian government on November 25, 1994, and was registered on September 18, 1995. It was an entirely state-owned company until some shares were privatized in the late 1990s. The company consolidated and managed the government's 51% stake in 85 of Russia's 87 regional and local telecom companies. In 2001-2003 Svyazinvest merged over 80 regional and local telecommunications companies to form seven mega-regional companies which operated alongside the long-distance operator Rostelecom.
American financier George Soros invested hundreds of millions of dollars in the company. He later called it "the worst investment he's ever made".
Following a governmental decision on the company's liquidation, its operation including brand and subsidiaries were fully incorporated to Rostelecom, the former long-distance telephony monopoly. In late September 2013, Rostelecom completed the final stage of its reorganization, under which the state-run telecom holding Svyazinvest and 20 other firms were integrated into Rostelecom. The government's combined common stake in the merged company amounted to 51.12% after the reorganization.
WWW svyazinvest.ru

History

In 1993, following the sale of a 49% stake in 85 of Russia’s 87 regional telephone operating companies, the Russian government consolidated its remaining 51% ownership into a newly established holding company known as Svyazinvest with the goal of accelerating the growth of public networks in Russia and establishing a unified management policy for their development. The company was established with foreign investors in mind. As part of a broader trend among major Russian enterprises seeking capital from Western markets, the Russian government offered a 25% stake in the telecommunications holding company. By attracting foreign investment, the government aimed to secure the financial resources necessary to modernize Russia’s outdated telephone infrastructure, which posed a risk to the country’s economic development.
The company was founded in accordance with Presidential Decree №1989 "On Specific Features of State Management of the Public Switched Network in the Russian Federation" dated October 10, 1994, and Government Resolution №1297 dated November 25, 1994, and Resolution №742 dated July 24, 1995 of the Government of Russia. Svyazinvest's charter capital was formed by consolidating state-owned stakes in 85 joint stock telecommunications companies. Svyazinvest passed official state registration on September 18, 1995.
In accordance with Resolution №618 issued by the Russian government on May 23, 1997, the Russian Federal Property Fund and the State Committee of the Russian Federation for State Property Management put up for sale an interest equaling 25% + 1 share in Svyazinvest at a cash auction without any investment terms.
In November 1999 Svyazinvest's board of directors amended the company charter and turned it into a management company. As part of the measures to assign the status of a management company to Svyazinvest work got under way to improve procedures to manage associates, specifically by consolidating companies located in one region.
In 2001-2002, Svyazinvest merged over 80 regional and local telecommunications companies to form seven mega-regional operators: Southern Telecom, CenterTelecom, Dalsvyaz, North-West Telecom, Sibirtelecom, Uralsvyazinform and VolgaTelecom. These entities operated under the Svyazinvest umbrella, providing local, long-distance, and international telecommunications services throughout Russia, with Rostelecom connecting their networks as the long-distance telecom operator.
In 2004, George Soros sold his stake in Svyazinvest to Len Blavatnik for $650 million.
On February 10, 2009, Malofeev, who allegedly was countering the influences of Alisher Usmanov by acting as the money man supporting the interests of Igor Shchyogolev through Malofeev's Marshall Capital, became a member of the Board of Directors of Svyazinvest OJSC while it was closely associated with Igor Shchyogolev and which led to the union of Svyazinvest with Rostelecom.
In April 2011, Svyazinvest subsidiaries were transferred to Rostelecom.
In May 2011 with Igor Shchyogolev's support, Alexander Trubetskoy became chairman of the board and Vadim Semyonov, who is a citizen of both Canada and Russia, became CEO of Svyazinvest on 3 November 2010 replacing Evgeny Yurchenko because Yurchenko refused to support Konstantin Malofeev's decisions calling Malofeev "Russia's great raider".
On October 1, 2013 Svyazinvest joined OJSC Rostelecom.

Subsidiaries

  • OJSC Central Telegraph
  • OJSC Rostelecom
  • OJSC Giprosvyaz
  • OJSC Kostroma GTS
  • OJSC Bashinformsvyaz
  • OJSC Chukotkasvyazinform
  • OJSC Ingushelectrosvyaz
  • OJSC Moscow mezhdugorodnaya telephone station N9
Svyazinvest is three-quarters owned by Rosproperty and one-quarter owned by Rostelecom.

Management

Directors general

  • Alexander Lipatov
  • Nail Ismailov
  • Oleg Belov
  • Valery Yashin
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Chairman of the Board

As of June 29, 2006, Svyazinvest's Board of Directors included the following as members:
As of June 29, 2006, the Management Board included the following as members:
  • Alexander Kiselyov, Chairman – Director General
  • Stanislav Panchenko
  • Konstantin Belyaev
  • Evgeny Chechelnitsky
  • Vladimir Zhelonkin