The Board of Investors led by the company of the French billionaire Xavier Niel completed the agreement on the purchase of the Ukrainian mobile operator Lifecell
Points of attention
- Xavier Niel, the French billionaire and founder of the telecommunications group Iliad, acquired the Ukrainian mobile operator Lifecell and Datagroup-Volia.
- After the acquisition, Lifecell will be integrated into Datagroup-Volia, forming a robust mobile service provider in Ukraine with plans for a new platform combining mobile communication, fixed communication, and pay TV services.
- Xavier Niel is known for his investments in various startups and his active involvement in the global entrepreneurial ecosystem. He has a track record of successful ventures and is recognized as one of the most active angel investors worldwide.
- The acquisition of Lifecell highlights Xavier Niel's strategic vision for expanding his telecom portfolio and creating synergies between different communication services in Ukraine.
- Xavier Niel's acquisition of Lifecell and Datagroup-Volia signifies a significant development in the telecommunications sector in Ukraine, with potential implications for mobile users and fixed network subscribers alike.
What is known about the purchase of Lifecell by French billionaire Xavier Niel
It is noted that now Lifecell will become part of the mobile service provider Datagroup-Volia.
Lifecell is the third largest mobile operator in Ukraine after Kyivstar and Vodafone".
Before that, Lifecell was part of Turkcell.
In April of this year, the Kyiv court lifted the seizure of Lifecell shares belonging to Russian billionaire Mykhailo Fridman.
Sanctions were imposed against Friedman. He owned about 20% of Lifecell shares.
Lifecell is known to have been sold for at least $524.3 million.
The EBRD and the International Finance Corporation are to provide a $435 million loan.
What will change after the acquisition of Lifecell by the company of French billionaire Xavier Niel
It is noted that in the future, a mobile operator from Ukraine will offer a service that will combine mobile communication, fixed communication and pay television.
The new platform plans to attract about 10 million mobile users and more than 4 million people connected through a fixed access network.
The NJJ Holding consortium is owned by Xavier Niel, the founder of the European telecommunications group Iliad.
What is known about the billionaire Xavier Niel
Niel is the founder, owner and chairman of the board of directors of the French telecommunications group Iliad, as well as co-owner of the newspaper Le Monde.
According to Forbes magazine, as of March 2021, Niel was ranked 12th in France and 269th in the world with a fortune of about 9.4 billion dollars.
Xavier invested in several startups: information sites Mediapart and Bakchich, technology company Ateme and music web service Deezer, electronic payment service system Square. A member of the Free Minds holding company that helped finance the Atlantico news site.
In March 2010, Xavier and Franco-Israeli investor Jeremy Berrebi founded the private investment fund Kima Ventures. From February 2010 to November 2011, the fund invested its funds in 130 companies in 18 countries around the world, thanks to which Business Insider called Niel and Berrebi the most active angel investors in the world.
At the end of 2010, Niel, Mathieu Piga and Pierre Berger purchased 64% of the shares of the Le Monde newspaper, which was on the verge of bankruptcy, for $150 million.
The new owners, after restructuring the company, were able to make Le Monde profitable for the first time in ten years.
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