Russian government clears Telenor-Alfa deal

MOSCOW Feb 3 (Reuters) - Russia's government on Wednesday cleared a deal that will see Norway's Telenor (TEL.OL) and Russia's Alfa-Group pool their Russian and Ukrainian holdings into a $23 billion, New-York listed telecom firm.

Telenor and Alfa agreed to merge their holdings in Vimpelcom (VIP.N), Russia's No. 2 mobile phone operator, and Ukraine's Kyivstar in October, ending one of Russia's longest corporate wars. [ID:nL5637811]

The deal was approved by the Commission on Foreign Investments, Igor Artemyev, head of the Federal Anti-Monopoly Service told reporters on Wednesday. (Reporting by Darya Korsunskaya; writing by Maria Kiselyova, editing by Robin Paxton)