Antimonopoly Committee allows French billionaire to buy lifecell
26 July 2024 10:17
The Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU) has approved an application for the acquisition of Ukrainian mobile operator lifecell by French company DVL Telecom, owned by billionaire Xavier Niel. This was reported by "Komersant Ukrainian" with reference to the AMCU.
At the meeting, the AMCU considered applications for DVL Telecom to acquire control of Global Beeline, Lifecell and Ukrtower and allowed the acquisition of the companies.
DVL Telecom is a subsidiary of NJJ Capital, a French investment company owned by billionaire Xavier Niel.
NJJ will pay $500 million for the Ukrainian unit of Turkcell, the lifecell mobile operator . This is the second time the company has submitted an application for the purchase. This is the largest deal in the mobile and telecommunications sector in many years.
In October 2023, the Shevchenkivskyi District Court of Kyiv seized the assets of the sanctioned Russian oligarch Mikhail Fridman. Among them is the mobile operator lifecell.
Earlier this year, the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU) granted permission to French billionaire Xavier Niel’s DVL Telecom to acquire Datagroup Holding Limited, the Ukrainian national fixed-line and digital services operator .
Seizure of lifecell shares
On 6 October 2023, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) announced the seizure of all Ukrainian assets of Russian oligarchs Mikhail Fridman, Pyotr Aven and Andrey Kosogov. These were assets worth UAH 17 billion.
Among the seized assets, the largest, worth almost UAH 13 billion, was 100% of the charter capital of LifeSell LLC. As it turned out, Friedman, Aven and Kosogov, through LetterOne, own shares in the Turkish company Turkcell Iletisim Hizmetleri A.S., which owns Lifecell.
Lifecell confirmed the arrest, but noted that it did not affect the company’s operations, and that Friedman, Aven and Kosogov have no control or influence over Turkcell and Lifecell.
At the end of 2023, Lifecell’s revenue increased by 24.4% to UAH 11.7 billion, while profit reached UAH 2.5 billion against UAH 972.3 million a year earlier. The number of subscribers at the end of 2023 was 11.7 million.
What we know about DVL Telecom and NJJ Capital
DVL Telecom is a part of NJJ. NJJ Capital is an investment company founded in 2010 by French billionaire Xavier Niel, who is also the founder of the Iliad telecommunications group. NJJ Capital invests in various industries, including telecommunications, media and technology. The businessman is also the owner of Le Monde newspaper. Niel’s net worth is estimated at $10.4 billion.
His NJJ Capital investment group has also started the process of acquiring lifecell mobile operator, Global Billi call centres and Ukrtower telecom tower operator in Ukraine.
