lifecell

As of May 18, 2017, lifecell provides mobile services in Ukraine.

Organized in 2005.

History

2024: Lifecell and Datagrup-Volya merge into one company. EBRD will give it $435 million

In mid-June 2024, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the International Financial Corporation (IFC) announced their intention to provide $435 million to a new telecommunications operator in Ukraine, which is formed by the French fund NJJ Capital. The new structure will be formed by the merger of the cellular operator Lifecell and the fixed-line operator Datagrup-Volya. Read more here.

2023

Turkcell sold lifecell to French billionaire

At the end of December 2023, the Turkish telecommunications company Turkcell announced the sale of Ukrainian assets to the French investment group NJJ Capital, which is owned by billionaire Xavier Niel. The perimeter of the deal included Lifecell, Global Bilgi and Ukrtower.

As part of the decision of the Board of Directors of our company dated  December 20, 2023 , on December 29, 2023, an agreement was signed on the transfer of shares in our subsidiaries Lifecell LLC , Global Bilgi and Ukrtower to NJJ Capital along with all rights and debts. The information [ about the deal] will be communicated to the public in full and in a timely manner, Turkcell said in a notice on the website of the Turkish state platform for public disclosure.

Turkish Turkcell decided to transfer its Ukrainian assets to a French investor

Under the terms of the agreement, Lifecell was sold for a nominal price of 12.7 billion hryvnia ($334 million), Ukrtower for 1.96 million hryvnia ($51.6 million), Global Bilgi - 47.2 million hryvnia ($1.2 million). Turkcell will transfer 100% of its assets in these companies.

By the end of December 2023, the NJJ Capital group is a co-owner of Le Monde newspaper, the owner of telecom operators Monaco Telecom, Salt Mobile and Eir, as well as the French development company Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield.

The sale of Lifecell was announced amid the growth of the carrier's customer base. By the end of the third quarter of 2023, the company had 11.4 million subscribers, which is 12.9% more than a year earlier.

In early November 2023, it was reported that Lifecell's revenues in the third quarter of 2023 amounted to 75.9% of Turkcell International's revenue and 8.4% of the total Turkcell holding. Then Turkcell noted that Lifecell's current cash reserves are "more than sufficient" to support the company's activities.^[1]

Recognition of the arrest of shares erroneous

The Ukrainian court recognized as erroneous the decision to arrest 100% of the shares of telecom companies Lifecell and Kyivstar, associated with Russian entrepreneurs Mikhail Fridman, Peter Aven and Andrey Kosogov. This became known in mid-October 2023.

According to TASS, citing Ukrainian media, a few days after the court decided to arrest all the operators' shares, the office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine again appealed to him with a statement that a mistake had been made in the decision. The department said that it was planned to impose the arrest not on all assets, but only on 47.85% of the authorized capital of Kyivstar and 19.8% of Lifsell, which, allegedly, directly belong to structures associated with LetterOne Friedman and his partners.

Ukrainian court found erroneous the decision to arrest 100% of the shares of telecom companies Lifecell and Kyivstar

The Shevchenkovsky District Court of Kyiv changed the decision to arrest the shares of mobile operators Kyivstar and lifecell. Now the decision concerns only shares controlled by Russian businessmen. Initially, the court arrested the following assets:

• 100% of the authorized capital of Lifsell LLC, owned by Lifecell Ventures Cooperatief UA, registered in the Netherlands;
• 99.99% of the authorized capital of Kyivstar PJSC in the form of shares owned by Veon Holdings B.V., a company registered in the Netherlands.

In September 2023, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) reported that Mikhail Fridman was suspected of financing several Russian military factories in the amount of about 2 billion rubles. On October 6, 2023, the SBU announced that the court had arrested all the assets of Mikhail Fridman, as well as Aven and Kosogov in the amount of more than UAH 17 billion. (46.5 billion rubles).^[2]

Arrest of 100% of shares in Ukraine

On October 11, 2023, it became known about the arrest of a 100% stake in one of the largest mobile operators in Ukraine, Lifecell, which belongs to Russian businessmen Mikhail Fridman, Petr Aven and Andrey Kosogov. This company has about 10 million subscribers.

According to TASS, citing the Ukrainian edition of Economic Pravda, which, in turn, refers to the court's decision, the authorized capital of the arrested shares is 13 billion hryvnia (more than $356 million). It is noted that Lifecell was owned by the Turkish company Turkcell Iletisim Hizmetleri A.S., and it, in turn, was managed through LetterOne.

Lifecell shares arrested

On October 11, 2023, a message was published on Lifecell's website claiming that the seizure of the telecom operator's shares would not affect its operation. The company said that Mikhail Fridman, Peter Aven and Andrei Kosogov have no "control or influence over Turkcell and lifecell."

Previously Security Service of Ukraine selected all the assets of Aven, Fridman and Kosogov. The value of the seized property of entrepreneurs exceeded 46.5 billion. rubles The reason for this was the fact that entrepreneurs were allegedly involved in the "schemes" of financing, and were RF ARMED FORCES also part of the president's entourage. Russia Vladimir Putin Among the seized assets are insurance and financial companies, mobile communications and IT enterprises, as well as mineral water plants. The names of the companies were not disclosed.

CNews On October 9, 2023, Sense To Ukraine Alfa GroupLetterOne bank (formerly Ukrainian Alfa Bank), "," AlfaStrakhovanie mineral water producers (part of the IDS Borjomi International holding) and the cellular operator "" (part of the Kyivstar group) own ""/. Veon In^[3]

Notes