The valuation of Kyivstar Group Ltd., which owns Ukraine’s largest mobile operator Kyivstar, has grown by approximately 20%, or $600-700 million, since the conclusion of the agreement with SPAC company Cohen Circle and the listing on the stock exchange, and the company has the potential to increase it, according to Alexander Komarov, president of Kyivstar Group and Kyivstar.
“I am deeply convinced that this is a significant underestimation of our business. There are two major factors. The first is the valuation of the company in a country at war, and the war will end. The second is that we are now seen more as a telecom operator, while Kyivstar is a digital services operator with a telecom license,” Komarov told reporters on August 29, when Nasdaq held an official trading opening ceremony together with Kyivstar and representatives of the Ukrainian government.
According to him, in the second quarter of 2025, the share of revenue from digital services in Uklon, Helsi, big data, cloud services, and Kyivstar TV already exceeded 10% of the company’s total revenue.
“Any business that we develop in the digital environment grows by at least 50% year-on-year. And some grow by 100+, 200% year-on-year,” said the company’s president.
He specified that Kyivstar’s current capitalization is about $2.8 billion, while the capitalization of its parent company VEON is about $4.2 billion.
As reported, on August 15, Kyivstar Group Ltd., after completing all the necessary procedures with SPAC company Cohen Circle, announced the start of trading on Nasdaq.
“It seems to me that these two weeks, during which Kyivstar has already been part of the international market, have shown that even during the war it is possible to develop, it is possible to create new services, it is possible to create value for all stakeholders, for customers, for shareholders, and thus increase the capitalization of companies,” Komarov emphasized.
He also cited two independent estimates: according to the first, the price per share will reach $14 in 12 months, and according to the second, $19.8, while at the end of the day on Friday, August 29, it was $12.43.
According to him, Kyivstar’s multiplier (revenue/EBITDA) is about 4, which corresponds to the lower level of valuation of Eastern European operators.
“Therefore, I believe that, given the current situation and the deals that have been made in Ukraine over the past few years in the telecom sector, the current situation looks quite optimistic,” Komarov concluded.
He also announced that the company has created a new expanded supervisory board of 10 members headed by VEON CEO Kaan Terzioglu.
Regarding the Kyivstar office in Dubai, which was opened in connection with the company’s IPO, the president specified that it will employ about 10 people who will deal with legal issues, among other things.
When asked by journalists how dividends would be paid to investors, Komarov reminded them that their payment for 2023-2024 is limited by the National Bank of Ukraine to EUR1 million per month, so Kyivstar will decide whether to pay or not after the relevant restrictions are lifted.
Komarov said that the company currently has approximately $400 million in its account, and this money is being used for investment.
“I will use last year’s figure, but I can say that this year’s figure will be significantly higher. We invested (in 2024) approximately 26% of our income, which is more than $200 million.”
According to Nasdaq data, on the first day of trading under the KYIV ticker, the share price fell by 7.4% to $11.52, corresponding to a capitalization of $2.437 billion.
The share of the parent company VEON in Kyivstar after the merger with SPAC decreased from 100% to 89.6%, while the deal provided $178 million in revenue, including investments from institutional partners Helikon and Clearline.
Kyivstar serves nearly 23 million mobile subscribers and over 1.1 million home internet subscribers. Its digital services portfolio includes the Helsi medical platform, the Kyivstar TV movie and television platform, and the leading ride-hailing and delivery company Uklon. Kyivstar is also a provider of solutions for corporate clients, offering cloud technology, cyber security, and artificial intelligence services. Through its Kyivstar.Tech division, the company is developing software development in Ukraine and is a partner for international technology companies such as Starlink.
Kyivstar increased its EBITDA by 32% to $06 million in the first half of 2025, while its revenue grew by 28% to $539 million.
U.S. Trident Acquisitions Corp organized as special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) held an initial public offering (IPO) on the NASDAQ stock exchange and raised $201.25 million. According to a posting on the company’s website, a total of 20.125 million units were sold at $10 per unit. Each unit consists of one share of common stock and a warrant to purchase one share of common stock. Both units and its parts could be traded. U.S. Chardan Capital Markets organized the deal.
Trident Acquisitions Corp COO Oleksiy Tymofeyev (former head of Smart-holding) wrote on his Facebook page that over 400 international investment funds took part in the placement.
The IPO for SPAC units foresees the placement of the raised funds on the account of a special trust until the object of the deal is identified (merger, acquisition, share exchange, purchase of shares and other transactions). The issuer intends to invest the raised funds in acquisition of energy assets in Eastern Europe with focus on Ukraine. “I want to build a large vertically integrated Eastern European corporation in the sphere of minerals with the center in Ukraine,” ex-Russian Duma Deputy and Trident Acquisitions Corp Director Ilya Ponomarev said in an interview with the Ekonomichna Pravda publication. He also does not rule out the purchase of assets in Northern America.
At present, Trident Acquisitions Corp is studying the assets for deals. Later, the company with which Trident Acquisitions Corp will merge would be traded on NASDAQ.
According to the offering memorandum, Trident Acquisitions Corp was founded in March 2016. Initially U.S. VK Consulting, Inc., under control of Russian investment banker Vadim Komissarov, bought all shares in the company.
In April 2016, 35% of shares were bought by Ponomarev, 5.35% – Patimat Akhmedova, 5% close relative of Mikheil Saakashvili – Timur Alazania, Komissarov has 5%, 0.8% each were bought by Tymofeyev, former coal industry minister of Ukraine Viktor Topolov and Head of U.S. McLarty Associates Edward S. Verona.
Then some deals were signed and the co-owner of Ukrainian ATB-Market retail chain Gennadii Butkevych became the holder of 10% of the company.
“They are my friends and acquaintances. They all have very different shares. Timur Alazania – he helps us with international relations as one of the leaders of the UN Secretariat in the past. Viktor Topolov left the shareholders before the IPO. Butkevych, he is one of the five members of the board of directors, but this is only about 3.5% of the total value of the company,” Ponomarev said.
