Azerbaijan’s Bakcell is acquiring Vodafone Ukraine from Russia’s MTS for US$734 million.
The deal was approved last month by the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU). The only direct shareholder in Vodafone Ukraine is the Dutch-registered firm Preludium, which is 100% owned by Luxembourg-based holding company Allegretto – which is in turn wholly owned by MTS.
Under the agreement, Allegretto will sell its Preludium stake to Bakcell’s subsidiary Telco Solutions & Investments. The $734 million sum factors in an earn-out of around US$84 million, and was calculated based on the firm’s enterprise valuation of US$848 million.
MTS President and CEO Alexey Kornya said: “. As our core market, Russia accounts for over 90% of group revenue. Given the small share of our Ukrainian operations in our overall business, we reaffirm our commitment to fulfilling our updated dividend policy and continuing to generate attractive returns for our shareholders.”
The share transfer is due for imminent completion.
