The deal to purchase Ukrainian Radiosystems, one of the providers of wireless services, is again in the air as minority holders of VimpelCom fail to convene for an extraordinary session to agree the bid.
      
      It was scheduled for yesterday but some of the investors could not arrive in time while some, like Eko Telecom, informed they do not intend to attend the meeting.
      
      The main opposition comes from the majority holder – Norwegian Telenor. Should the Ukrainian-Russian partnership get afoot, they would have a competitor to their Kyivstar.
      
      VimpelCom (http://www.vimpelcom.com) operates under the 'Beeline' brand in Russia and Kazakhstan. In addition, VimpelCom is continuing to use ‘K-mobile’ and ‘EXCESS’ brands in Kazakhstan. In Russia, the company covers the territory where some 94% of the population resides (some 136 million). In 2004, its net revenue, in US GAAP terms, amounted to $350.39m, a 53.1% annual increase. On the whole, it grossed up to $2,146bn.
      
      Some 40% are listed at NYSE, 26.2% belongs to Telenor, while Alfa Telecom owns around 33%.