REUTERS
The deal is financed mainly from international financial institutions' resources.
Telco Solutions and Investments LLC (controlled by Azerbaijan's Bakcell LLC telecommunications company, part of NEQSOL Holding), has signed a legally binding agreement with PJSC MTS on the sale of latter's telecommunications business in Ukraine operating under the brand of Vodafone Ukraine.
"Under the agreement, MTS through its 100% subsidiary Allegretto Holding S.a.r.l. (Luxembourg) is selling a 100% stake in Preludium BV (the Netherlands), the sole shareholder of VF Ukraine PrJSC, for US$734 million, including given a deferred payment of about US$84 million," the company said in a statement.
The deal in Ukraine is financed mainly from international financial institutions' resources.
Change in ownership will not affect the operational activities of Vodafone Ukraine. The company will continue to provide services under the Vodafone brand and will continue to fulfill all obligations to employees, customers and partners, the report said.
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"With the acquisition of Vodafone Ukraine, the second telecommunications operator in the Ukrainian market, we continue the strategy of expanding our international presence and entering new markets by companies belonging to the NEQSOL Holding group of companies. The telecommunications industry is one of the priority areas of our group's work, therefore we constantly invest in innovative and reliable telecommunication solutions," NEQSOL Holding Yusif Jabbarov said.
NEQSOL Holding covers the oil and gas, telecommunications, high-tech and construction industries. In particular, the group includes Nobel Oil Services LLC and Nobel Oil E&P LLC (trade name is Nobel Upstream), registered in the United Kingdom. The holding operates in the UK, USA, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, the United Arab Emirates, and Bangladesh. The group of companies stepped into the telecommunications industry in the early 2000s. NEQSOL Holding invests in projects to create Europe-Asia Digital Silk Road. In the early 2010s, the group entered the construction market. Norm LLC is the largest cement producer across the Caucasus region.
Azerbaijani-based Bakcell was founded in 1994. Bakcell network covers 93% of the country's territory (excluding occupied territories) and 99% of the population thanks to well-over 7,500 base stations. Today, Bakcell ensures the provision of best quality and fastest 4G services in all regions the country.
Vodafone Ukraine serves 19.7 million subscribers. Its net profit in 2018 amounted to UAH 1.8 billion, or US$74.5 million. The company is part of the MTS Group (through two intermediate legal entities, namely Luxembourg-based Allegretto Holding S.a.r.l. and the Netherlands Preludium B.V.), in which the majority shareholder is businessman Vladimir Yevtushenkov.