Russia / Россия: Veon completes sale of Russian Subsidiary

The Amsterdam-based telco Operator group Veon has completed the sale of its Russian business to the senior management team of the PJSC VimpelCom (Beeline Russia) led by CEO Alexander Torbakhov. successfully exiting the Russian market. 

Veon Group CEO Kaan Terzioglu said, "The closing of the sale and the completion of our exit from Russia allow us to fully focus our energy on the way forward, meeting the growing demand in our markets – Pakistan, Ukraine, Bangladesh, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan – with our digital operator strategy. "I am pleased to note that we are now in a much stronger position to deliver our strategic priorities. We would like to thank all our stakeholders and regulatory bodies, including the US Treasury, who have supported our Company through this process.”

This process has lasted for almost a year since Veon initially announced its plan to sell VimpelCom and local telco Beeline for $2.1 billion last November. However, the Russian government blocked this deal and asked for it to be revisited, only regaining government clearance in February.