The Anti-Monopoly Ministry of the Russian Federation adopted a resolution on April 8, 2002 to approve the merger application of OJSC North-Western Telecom which will include eight traditional North-West operators:  

1.       OJSC Artelecom (AHTL),

2.       OJSC Elektrosvyaz Kaliningrad region (ESKL).

3.       Murmanskelektrosvyaz (MUEL),

4.       OJSC Elektrosvyaz, Republic of Karelia (ELKA),

5.       OJSC Novgorodtelecom (NVGT)

6.       OAO Elektrosvyaz Pskov region (ESPO),

7.       OJSC Cherpovetselektrosvyaz (CHES),

8.       OJSC Elektrosvyaz Vologda region (ESVL),  

The signed applications documents were made available at the Ministry on April 11, 2002.  

According to the terms and conditions of merger approval, NWT was required to provide equal network access and channeling of traffic for all telecom operators, regardless of whether they are merged or entities Or independent operators. Another key provision is the commitment to upgrade and develop networks, especially in remote rural areas.  

The Ministry also required NWT to spin off or split into separate legal entities within six months of the merger, any concerns which provide only telecom services which are not subject to state regulation.   

CEO of NWT Nikolai Bredkov stated that the company will comply with any and all requirements made by the Anti-Monopoly Ministry.  He also pointed out that the spin-off requirement for companies providing non-state regulated services must be seriously studied with the Ministry in order to work out a uniform policy. 

AMM approval means that NWT is ready to proceed to the next stage of the merger process: preparing an issue prospectus and then launching a share issue. The attendant documents will be reviewed at a Board of Director's meeting to be held around the end of April.