OREANDA-NEWS. September 13, 2013. Moscow. On September 12, the Extraordinary General Shareholders Meeting of MegaFon OJSC took a resolution to acquire 100% of Scartel/Yota operator. Transaction closure is planned for late September 2013.

Combination of the two companies' assets will bring to MegaFon much stronger leadership position in high-speed data services. In particular, MegaFon will get 40 MHz of continuous frequency spectrum in the range of 2.6 GHz. In practical terms it will mean that the company's customers will enjoy guaranteed high-speed mobile Internet and high quality service anywhere. It is especially important for densely populated centers where based on its high network capacity MegaFon will be able to provide 4G services to more customers than any other Russian operator.

"When the transaction of Scartel/Yota acquisition is closed, MegaFon will actually become the largest 4G operator in Russia. We plan to significantly expand the geographic footprint of the fourth generation network, including the areas where infrastructure development was hampered by economy and technology barriers," says Ivan Tavrin, Chief Executive Officer of MegaFon OJSC.

The companies merger will create many advantages both for MegaFon's subscribers and for customers of Scartel/Yota. Today, this company provides Internet-access services to almost 650,000 subscribers throughout the country.

"After completion of this deal all subscribers of Yota will get new opportunities in communications and services. They will have access to MegaFon's mobile Internet and 2G/3G voice network. In addition, MegaFon has its own extensive chain of retail stores in 500 cities of Russia, which will secure more convenient and easier communication with the operator," says Mikhail Dubin, Director for B2C Market.

Scartel/Yota is the only operator in Russia with 4G/LTE network that operates in many towns and cities of this country. The company owns the band of 2?30 MHz in the nation-wide 4G/LTE spectrum of 2.5-2.6 GHz. The operator's network covers about 27% of the Russian population.