MOSCOW (WiMAX Day). Russia’s number two mobile operator Vimpelcom has offered US$4.2 billion to acquire Russian fixed-line operator Golden Telecom. According to a joint statement made in Moscow yesterday, discussions are underway for a subsidiary of Vimpelcom to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Golden Telecom at a price per share of US$105 in cash, subject to negotiation and approval. Both companies have been actively pursuing WiMAX strategies in Russia and CIS countries for the last year. Vimpelcom owns significant 3.5 GHz spectrum in Russia, and had its license extended earlier this year by the State Commission of Radio Frequencies (GKRCh). Vimpelcom also applied to the GKRCh for 2.6 GHz spectrum. Likewise, Golden Telecom applied for the same spectrum last year, but according to public documents, has not received any licenses. Golden Telecom owns licenses to 2.3 GHz spectrum in Ukraine where it has said it will deploy a WiMAX network.