Telecoms group VEON mulls U.S. IPO for Ukraine's Kyivstar (updated)

VEON

14/11/2024 09:16

(Adds details and context from paragraph 3)
    By Gianluca Lo Nostro and Leo Marchandon
       Nov 14 (Reuters) - Telecoms group VEON  VON.AS  is
considering an initial public offering (IPO) for its Ukrainian
unit Kyivstar in the U.S. as early as next year, CEO Kaan
Terzioglu said on Thursday.
    "We have not made those decisions yet, but we are committed
to looking into IPOs of our local assets. And clearly, Kyivstar
is one of those assets which could be in the line of this
process," Terzioglu told Reuters in an interview.
    Should the IPO go through, Kyivstar would become the first
Ukrainian company to be listed in the United States.
    VEON has not had any conversations with Ukrainian officials
on the topic, as the process is still in the early stages,
Terzioglu said. 
    He had previously hinted at a potential listing in Warsaw or
London.
    "For Ukraine, I think the local IPO in the Ukrainian market
probably is a little bit more longer term issue than having an
IPO in an international market," the CEO said.
    The comments came after Nasdaq signed a partnership with the
Ukrainian government in February to "support the development of
Ukrainian capital markets".
    In October, activist investor Shah Capital, which owns a
6.75% stake in VEON, urged the group to list Kyivstar on Nasdaq
as a means to "unfreeze ownership shares".
    In 2023, a court in Kyiv froze 47.85% of Kyivstar's
corporate rights due to the previous involvement of sanctioned
Russian individuals in VEON.

 (Reporting by Gianluca Lo Nostro and Leo Marchandon in Gdansk;
editing by Milla Nissi)
 ((gianluca.lonostro@thomsonreuters.com;
leo.marchandon@thomsonreuters.com))