Ukraine’s telecoms industry is about to receive a boost thanks to The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, with support from the European Commission (EC) and the government of France.
Between them, these parties are enabling an investment programme to modernise, expand and improve telecoms service quality in Ukraine.
The EBRD and the IFC are jointly providing a total of US$435 million in long-term debt to support a landmark project involving two leading Ukrainian telecom groups, lifecell and Datagroup-Volia, which recently merged to form a new group, Datagroup-Volia-lifecell.
The investment will support the merged group in enhancing the resilience of the phone network and improving digital connectivity across Ukraine.
NJJ, a French telecoms investment holding company owned by investor Xavier Niel, leads the new group with a majority stake. NJJ is partnering with Horizon Capital, a leading private equity firm in emerging Europe, and Mykhaylo Shelemba, former CEO of Datagroup-Volia and now CEO of the new group.
As the largest single foreign direct investment (FDI) into Ukraine by a major strategic investor since Russia’s invasion, the project is expected to send a strong positive signal to investors.
Through this high-impact transaction, the merged group will deliver improved mobile connectivity to ten million subscribers and provide faster and more reliable fixed broadband access to around four million homes.
The group will also enhance protection against cybersecurity threats, introduce more competitive products and services, and implement best practice standards at a critical time.
The project will also support the telecoms sector’s recovery from the estimated US$1.9 billion in direct damages and US$750 million in losses incurred since Russia’s invasion.
To mitigate investment risks, a portion of the EBRD’s and IFC’s loans will be covered by guarantees provided by the government of France and the European Union under the Ukraine Investment Framework.
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Publish date : 2024-10-10 03:21:00
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