OREANDA-NEWS. March 17, 2011. VimpelCom Ltd. (“VimpelCom” or the “Company”) (NYSE: VIP) announced today that the Company’s shareholders approved all of the items on the agenda at today’s Special General Meeting, paving the way to complete the combination of VimpelCom and Wind Telecom S.p.A. (“Wind Telecom”) (the “Transaction”).

Alexander Izosimov, CEO and President of VimpelCom, commented: “The approval of this transformative combination with Wind Telecom by our shareholders will lead to the creation of a new global telecom player with over 173 million mobile subscribers covering a population of 838 million people. The combined group will have a significantly diversified revenue base, substantially larger scale of operations, and potential synergies estimated to be USD 2.5 billion on a net present value basis. This transaction and the shareholder vote underscore the Company’s dedication to delivering substantial value creation for shareholders and our commitment to corporate governance excellence.”

Shareholders representing 93.1% of the Company’s voting shares participated in the Special General Meeting. The resolutions at the Special General Meeting were approved by 53.3% of the voting shares that participated in the meeting. Of the Company’s public shareholders, present at the Special General Meeting 39.8% voted in favor of the resolutions and 60.2% voted against the resolutions.
 The completion of the Transaction is subject to certain conditions precedent, such as receipt of regulatory approvals and receipt of funds to finance the Transaction. Completion of the Transaction is expected to occur in the first half of 2011.