Vimpel Posts Loss as Acquisition Turns Sour

Vimpel Communications(VIP Quote), the Russian telecom, did its best to dress up a dispiriting fourth-quarter earnings report Wednesday.

Trumpeting revenue growth of 27%, which included added business brought on by the acquisition of a Ukrainian telecom firm last year, Vimpel nonetheless had to take more than $1.4 billion in write-downs and goodwill impairments related to that very acquisition and the leverage it used to do it.

It's Vimpel's second-straight quarter of losses, and investors appeared to react: the company's NYSE-listed American Depository Shares dropped by as much 7% in morning trading Wednesday on heavy volume. ...