OREANDA-NEWS. March 09, 2011. Amsterdam and New York (March 6, 2011) - VimpelCom Ltd. (“VimpelCom” or the “Company”) (NYSE: VIP) welcomes today’s announcement by Altimo Holdings & Investments Limited (“Altimo”)  that  Altimo  is committed to preserving three independent seats on the Supervisory Board after the proposed combination of VimpelCom and Wind Telecom (the “Transaction”) is completed.
 
Altimo also affirmed the following:


• The current composition of VimpelCom’s Supervisory Board, including its three independent members, is not expected to change upon closing of the Wind Telecom transaction;
• The Wind Telecom transaction does not cause the termination of the Shareholders Agreement and, therefore, upon consummation of the transaction the Shareholders Agreement would still be in place; and
• Altimo intends to maintain three independent directors on the Supervisory Board even if the Shareholders Agreement were terminated in the future, with the three independent directors continuing to have the ability to break deadlocks at the Supervisory Board.
 VimpelCom is committed to good corporate governance principles that safeguard the rights of all shareholders, including minority shareholders. Furthermore, the Company views the announcement by Altimo as an affirmation that all shareholders will continue to play an active role in corporate decision making.
 
The Special General Meeting of VimpelCom is scheduled to take place on March 17, 2011 to approve the issuance of up to 325,639,827 VimpelCom common shares and 305,000,000 convertible preferred shares and the increase of VimpelCom’s authorized share capital needed to complete this transaction.
 
VimpelCom’s Supervisory Board and Management Board recommend shareholders vote “FOR” the proposals by signing, dating and returning the WHITE voting card received from the Company.
 
Shareholders who need assistance or have questions about the voting process should call VimpelCom’s proxy solicitor, D.F. King & Co., Inc., toll-free in North America at +1 800 431 9645, toll-free in Continental Europe at 00800 5464 5464, +44 207 920 9700 from other locations, or call collect at +1 212 269 5550.

About VimpelCom
 
VimpelCom Ltd. consists of telecommunications operators providing voice and data services through a range of wireless, fixed and broadband technologies. The VimpelCom Ltd. group is headquartered in Amsterdam and has operations in Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Georgia, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Vietnam and Cambodia, covering territory with a total population of about 345 million. VimpelCom Ltd. operating companies provide services under the “Beeline” and “Kyivstar” brands. VimpelCom Ltd.’s ADSs are listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “VIP”.