Sweden’s TeliaSonera and Russian holding group Alfa have agreed to combine their respective direct and indirect interests in Turkcell and MegaFon into a new company, effectively ending a legal battle between the two parties. The new company – which will be listed on the NYSE – will create an international operator with over 90 million subscribers across Russia, Turkey and the CIS countries. TeliaSonera currently owns 43.8 percent of MegaFon, the third-largest Russian mobile operator, and 37.3 percent of Turkcell, the Turkish market-leader. Alfa owns 25.1 percent of MegaFon via its telecoms arm (Altimo) and 4.99 percent of Turkcell. Under the new structure, the new company will own a majority of the shares in both Turkcell and MegaFon.

“I am very pleased that we have reached an agreement with Altimo to combine our efforts in resolving the legal disputes, which have been going on far too long,” said Lars Nyberg, president and CEO of TeliaSonera. The two firms had been in a legal battle involving Turkish conglomerate Cukurova’s stake in Turkcell. However, the parties have now agreed that Altimo acquires Cukurova’s indirect shareholding in Turkcell and contributes those shares to the new company without any premium. The agreement mirrors a similar deal between Alfa and Norway’s Telenor to settle a dispute over ownership of Russia’s VimpelCom and Ukrainian operator Kyivstar.