Russian bank VTB said it had completed its acquisition of the Russian operations of Swedish telecoms operator Tele2.

VTB's first deputy president and management board chairman Yuri Soloviev said in a concluding statement that the deal is legally done and that they are planning to keep the telecoms operator as a whole business entity, adding that the management will be spending time to think of strategic development following the deal's completion.

In addition, Soloviev hopes to attract potential shareholders who would invest in and provide them value as it welcomes new business plan after the acquisition.

However, it is speculated that Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman's investment arm, A1, are planning to counter VTB's offer for Tele2.

 Soloviev declined to comment on the speculation.