VEON to sell its Tacom business in Tajikistan to ZET Mobile (translated)
VEON Ltd. (NASDAQ: VEON, Euronext Amsterdam: VEON), the international telecommunications holding headquartered in Amsterdam, is selling its business in Tajikistan, reported Russian newspaper Vedomosti citing VEON representative Maria Piskunenko.
VEON has reached an agreement for the sale of British Virgin Islands-registered Vimpelcom AG, which owns 98% of Tacom, the cellular operator in Tajikistan operating under the Beeline brand, according to Piskunenko. The buyer is ZET Mobile Limited, the owner of the remaining 2% stake in the operator, Piskunenko told the paper, without disclosing the value of the deal and the owners of ZET Mobile.
The transfer of the asset requires regulatory approvals, Piskunenko added.
Analysts cited by Vedomosti gave various valuations of the asset. A Raiffeisenbank analyst believes that Tacom could cost between USD 150m and USD 200m. An iKS-Consulting analyst gave a deal value of USD 120m, while an Otkritie Broker analyst provided a conservative valuation of USD 70m.
The paper also reported that VEON is selling its Tajik subsidiary after tax claims were imposed on the company. In late January, Nustratullo Davlatzoda, the head of the Tax Committee under the Government of Tajikistan, announced that Tacom owes USD 18.9m in taxes, the article reported. Vedomosti also reported that in March 2017, Mikhail Gerchuk, former Head of Eurasia at VEON, had announced that the company was presented with tax claims in Tajikistan, which its unit in Tajikistan did not agree with and explained its position to the Tajik side.
Link to original source (report behind paywall)