Megafon Shareholders Nominate New Independent Director

By Olga Razumovskaya

MOSCOW--Russia's No. 2 mobile operator MegaFon said Monday that shareholders have nominated former U.K. Treasury Minister Lord Paul Myners as a non-executive independent director, a move apparently aimed at calming investor concerns over corporate governance ahead of a delayed initial public offering in London later this month.

The appointment will take effect after a formal nomination process and shareholder approval, the company said in a statement.

Megafon is owned by Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov's AF Telecom and Swedish telecommunications company TeliaSonera AB (TLSN.SK).

"With the appointment of Lord Myners, MegaFon will have a balanced Board structure with two independent non-executive directors, two directors nominated by TeliaSonera and three directors nominated by AF Telecom, which puts in place a strong corporate governance structure," said Megafon Chief Executive Ivan Tavrin.

Megafon said Nov. 15 that it hoped to raise around $2 billion from listing in London and Moscow. It said the book will close Nov. 27.

-James Marson contributed to this story.

Write to Olga Razumovskaya at olga.razumovskaya@dowjones.com

Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires