Interest in the roadshow being held by Kyivstar, Ukraine’s largest telecommunications operator, and its parent company VEON, has been several times higher than expected, according to Ogi K. Fabel II, CEO and founder of VEON, in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
“We held dozens of meetings with investors to tell the story of Kyivstar, and there were many more meetings than we had originally planned… There are many investors who believe in and want to be part of this because they see the profits and are attracted by the protection of full transparency of public listing,” he said.
Fabela disagreed with the view that investor interest in Ukraine has declined recently due to the protracted war.
“Our experience shows enormous interest and enthusiasm… We see great interest in exploring opportunities from investors who understand the situation:
they want to invest in Ukraine not only to help, but also because they see business prospects for themselves,” said the founder of VEON.
Kyivstar CEO Alexander Komarov emphasized that the company discloses all security risks, but almost three and a half years of war have proven the resilience of the team, the business, and Ukraine as a whole.
“Kyivstar’s history is very successful. And we want to be an example to others that even in times of war, it is still possible to run a profitable business, not only in our sector, but also in many other sectors, such as energy, construction, defense technologies — there are many opportunities for successful investments… We are telling the world: look at the extraordinary nature of what can be done in Ukraine. And all this during a war, so imagine what amazing opportunities there would be in peacetime, when the economy would be more vibrant,” said Fabel.
He specified that on the way to listing Kyivstar on NASDAQ, it remains to obtain approval from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which reviews all submitted documents, roadshows, and the process of meetings with shareholders.
“Everything is going according to plan, and by the end of this year, we should be ready to complete the listing preparation process… Kyivstar’s indirect listing, which we hope will take place this year, is an opportunity to show the world that it is possible to do legal and profitable business in Ukraine,” the VEON CEO concluded.
As reported, in January 2025, VEON announced the signing of a memorandum of intent to list a portion of Kyivstar’s shares on the NASDAQ stock exchange. In mid-March, a Business Combination Agreement (BCA) was signed with Cohen Circle, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) listed on NASDAQ, for the indirect listing of Kyivstar on the exchange.
Kyivstar’s parent company will be Kyivstar Group Ltd, which will be registered on NASDAQ under the ticker symbol “KYIV” instead of Cohen Circle’s current ticker symbol (CIRR). VEON will own at least 80% of Kyivstar Group’s issued and outstanding capital. At the time of closing, Kyivstar was valued at $2.21 billion.
In mid-July, VEON and Cohen Circle announced the signing of non-redemption agreements (NRAs) totaling approximately $52.3 million with accredited institutional investors, including Helikon and Clearline.
At that time, it was noted that the listing was expected in the third quarter of this year. As of March 2025, Kyivstar served approximately 22.7 million mobile subscribers and more than 1.1 million Home Internet subscribers.
The company provides services using a wide range of mobile and fixed technologies, including 4G, Big Data, Cloud solutions, cyber security services, digital TV, etc., and has announced investments in new telecom technologies of $1 billion for 2023-2027.
VEON provides converged communications and digital services to nearly 160 million customers in six countries, home to more than 7% of the world’s population.
