Armenia’s new telecom player wins approval to buy Veon unit

Karapet Navasardian 2020
NASDAQ
July 10 2020
Armenia's new telecom player wins approval to buy Veon unit
     
Contributor
Nvard Hovhannisyan Reuters

July 10 (Reuters) – A new telecom company in Armenia said on Friday it has won regulatory approval to buy the local unit of Veon VON.AS.

Amsterdam-based Veon, which operates mobile networks mainly in emerging markets including Russia, Pakistan, central Asia and North Africa, said last month that it was in talks with Team LLC about a sale.

Team LLC was set up in April by Hayk Yesayan, former general director of one of Armenia's biggest telecoms company, Ucom, as a new player in the market providing internet services and TV and radio broadcast services.

The value of the sale has not been disclosed. Team LLC said in its statement on Friday that the deal would close soon.

Armenia's telecoms market is competitive and the merger of Veon Armenia and Team LLC will create a major player to take on market leaders Viva_MTS and Ucom.

Veon had held talks early this year about selling its unit to Ucom when Yesayan was still general director, but it later withdrew from the talks. Yesayan, who had originally founded Ucom with his brother, left Ucom in April.

(Reporting by Nvard Hovhannisyan; Writing by Margarita Antidze; Editing by Susan Fenton)