UPDATE 1-Turkcell to bid for Belarus mobile operator
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ISTANBUL, April 11 (Reuters) - Turkey's leading mobile phone operator Turkcell (TCELL.IS) said on Friday it has decided to bid for state-owned Belarussian mobile operator BeST as it seeks to expand its reach in the region.
"Our company has decided to begin works to make a bid to shareholders to buy a majority stake in Belarussian Telecommunication Network (BeST)," Turkcell said in a statement.
Last year Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko said the government was ready to cede control of BeST for around $500 million.
In October, Belarus agreed to sell control of the country's No. 2 mobile phone operator MDC, operating under the Velcom brand, to Telekom Austria (TELA.VI) for $1 billion.
Turkcell's major shareholders are Nordic telecommunications company TeliaSonera AB (TLSN.ST), Russian private equity firm Altimo and unlisted Turkish conglomerate Cukurova.
Turkcell already has interests in mobile phone operations in Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Moldova and Georgia and has repeatedly said it wants to expand in the regions around Turkey. (Reporting by Paul de Bendern; Editing by David Cowell)
