Svyazinvest may offer to buy Comstar -report

MOSCOW, May 26 (Reuters) - Russian state-controlled telecoms giant Svyazinvest is preparing to make an offer to buy fixed-line operator Comstar (CMSTq.L), rivalling a potential bid by mobile carrier MTS (MBT.N), a newspaper reported on Tuesday. Vedomosti business daily quoted two unnamed industry sources as saying Svyazinvest was preparing to make the offer to Comstar shareholders and that the deal would fit in with the emerging strategy of the national telecoms giant.

Svyazinvest was not immediately available for comment.

The government is currently mapping out a long-term development strategy for Svyazinvest, aiming to boost its market share and state role in the telecoms sector.

MTS, Russia's top mobile phone operator, applied last week for anti-monopoly office approval to buy up to 100 percent of Comstar. [nLL970955]

MTS and Comstar are both controlled by services conglomerate Sistema (SSAq.L), which has been widely expected to merge the two telecom operators into one universal telecom group.

Comstar also has a one-quarter stake in Svyazinvest. Sistema is negotiating selling it back to the state or swapping it for the Svyazinvest stake in Moscow incumbent MGTS (MGTS.RTS) and forgiveness of Comstar's debt provided by state lender Sberbank.

"We see Svyazinvest's chances of acquiring Comstar as quite low, given that the latter is controlled by Sistema, which would focus on the interests of its other subsidiary, MTS," UniCredit wrote in a note.

(Reporting by Maria Kiselyova; editing by John Stonestreet)

((maria.kiselyova@reuters.com, +7 495 775 12 42, Reuters Messaging: maria.kiselyova.reuters.com@reuters.net)) Keywords: COMSTAR/SVYAZINVEST

(C) Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution ofReuters content, including by caching, framing or similar means, is expresslyprohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters and the Reuterssphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group ofcompanies around the world.nLQ184483