VEON, which has 240 million customers, announced two transactions — pertaining to Italy, Pakistan and Bangladesh — as part of its consolidation and transformation strategy.
As per the first transaction, VEON will sell its entire 50 percent stake in Wind Tre to CK Hutchison Holdings for $2.867 billion in cash, making the exit from Italy.
In the second transaction, VEON also aims to acquire the telecom assets of Global Telecom Holding (GTH) in Pakistan and Bangladesh using a fraction of these proceeds from the deal with CK Hutchison. VEON owns 57.7 percent of GTH.
VEON will buy GTH’s stake in Pakistan Jazz and Banglalink Bangladesh for $2.55 billion. VEON will continue to hold its stake in Djezzy Algeria through GTH.
VEON expects to book a net gain of approximately $1.1 billion on completion of the Wind Tre deal and aims to use the proceeds to pay down debt and reduce its leverage ratio, while pursuing other strategic initiatives.
VEON will use the balance of the deal amount to reduce debt. Debt leverage ratio will be reduced to approximately 1.8x, below target ratio of 2.0x, following the two deals.
“We intend to provide a comprehensive update on VEON’s strategy in the coming weeks, which will cover, among other things, our ambition to deliver operational excellence across our portfolio, supported by a refocused and expert HQ that provides strategic expertise and direction to our businesses,” Ursula Burns, executive chairman of VEON, said.
VEON is reviewing its HQ structure and operating model to deliver a simpler, lighter and more operationally efficient organization. VEON’s HQ drives key strategic initiatives across the group, while the development of local market strategies and day-to-day decision-making will be the responsibility of VEON’s operating companies.
“Our new operating model will enable VEON to focus on serving the needs of our customers across its emerging market while significantly improving the company’s cost efficiency,” VEON said.
