Luxembourg-based mobile firm Millicom International said yesterday it may seek financial compensation from Russia’s VimpelCom if it fails to complete the agreed acquisition of Millicom’s mobile business in Laos. Millicom’s head of external communications Peregrine Riviere told Dow Jones Newswires that he saw no reason why the sale – first announced in September 2009 – had not been completed, though he noted that the two companies have been in regular dialogue. Riviere said that Millicom was prepared to talk to other buyers and will seek financial compensation from VimpelCom if the operations in Laos are eventually sold at a lower price than agreed with the Russian company. However, a VimpelCom spokeswoman hinted that the deal was still on pending approval from the Lao government. “We have a very constructive dialogue with the government and hope that we will be able to receive approval soon,” she added.

Under the terms of the original agreement, VimpelCom agreed to buy a 74.1 percent stake in the Lao business for US$66 million, with the Lao government retaining the remaining stake. “Laos provides a great complement to our existing operations in Vietnam and Cambodia and fits perfectly into our strategy of building a solid Southeast Asian cluster,” said VimpelCom CEO Boris Nemsic in a statement at the time. The Lao business was one of three mobile networks that Millicom sold-off last year in bid to focus its efforts on Africa and Latin America. It sold its Sri Lankan business to Etisalat for US$155 million and its Cambodian mobile network subsidiary to its local partner, the Royal Group, for US$346 million.