Ufanet

History

2024

Shareholder conflict

In August 2024, it became known about the conflict between the shareholders of one of the largest Internet providers in Bashkiria - Ufanet. Arthur and Alfiya Khazigaleevs, former spouses, appealed to the Arbitration Court of Bashkiria with a lawsuit against Ufanet, demanding to invalidate the decisions of the board of directors and shareholders of the company regarding the approval of candidates for governing bodies. However, the court rejected their claims, which led to a further aggravation of the situation.

According to Kommersant, the essence of the conflict began with the fact that at the end of January 2024, Alfiya Khazigaleeva, who, after a divorce in 2020, took a 25.67% stake in the company, proposed to the Ufanet board of directors the candidacies of her former husband Artur Khazigaleev and son Rafail to include them in the board of directors and the company's audit commission. However, the board of directors refused to satisfy this request, citing the inconsistency of her proposal with the requirements of the current legislation. In particular, it was stated that the documents provided did not confirm ownership of shares in the amount of more than 2% necessary for the nomination of candidates.

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Unsplash

After that, the Khazigaleevs filed a lawsuit, demanding a review of the company's decisions, but the Bashkirian Arbitration Court upheld the position of the board of directors. The court indicated that a copy of the statement of Alfia Khazigaleeva's shares as of November 28, 2023, submitted as evidence, was not properly certified, which raised doubts about its reliability. The court decision also noted that by the time the lawsuit was filed, Khazigaleeva had already sold her shares to her ex-wife, which deprived her of the right to challenge the decisions of the company's management bodies.

As of August 2024, Ufanet JSC serves about 500 thousand subscribers, offering Internet access, digital television and video surveillance services. The main shareholders of the company are Artur Khazigaleev (25.67%), Ufanetinvest LLC (14.41%) and the former owners of the company - Marat Akhmetshin and Marat Fattakhov, who sold their shares in Salavatsteklo in the spring of 2024. ^[1]

Salavatsteklo bought the Bashkir telecom operator Ufanet

JSC "" Salavatsteklo acquired a stake in the Bashkir telecom operator "Ufanet." Information about this became known on June 4, 2024 after the administration of the head announced Bashkiria the awarding of the beneficiary of Salavatstekl Radik Sultanov with the Order of Salavat Yulaev. Details of the size of the acquired stake were not disclosed.

Ufanet CEO Iskandar Bakhtiyarov confirmed the change of shareholders, but noted that he did not have the details of the transaction. According to Kommersant's publication, the deal took place in May 2024, amid interest in the majority stake in Ufanet by State Duma deputy Alexander Khinshtein.

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Freepik

Earlier, in February 2024, Alexander Khinshtein wrote on his Telegram channel about his intention "to do everything so that Ufanet gets out of foreign control," emphasizing that the owners of about 60% of the company's shares - entrepreneurs Marat Akhmetshin and Marat Fattakhov - have dual citizenship of Austria and Cyprus. In April, Khinshtein appealed to the Prosecutor General Igor Krasnov with a request to file a lawsuit to recover the shares of Akhmetshin and Fattakhov in favor of the state, and in May - to the head of FASMaxime Shaskolsky, with a request to block the sale of Ufanet shares. Marat Akhmetshin denied the sale of shares.

In addition, Alexander Khinshtein noted that emigrants should not be able to control enterprises of strategic importance, as this poses a threat to national security. The Ministry of Internal Affairs confirmed that Marat Akhmetshin and Marat Fattakhov have foreign citizenship. Khinshtein stressed that this allows the Ufanet telecom operator to turn into state revenue in accordance with the adopted law.

According to Kommersant's sources, various investment groups showed interest in Ufanet, but it was Salavatsteklo that was able to complete the deal, which ensured control over one of the leading telecom operators in the region. As a result, Salavatsteklo plans to expand the range of services provided, improving the quality of communication and expanding network coverage.^[2][3]

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