The government approved the sale of Vimpelcom to Russian management with the purchase of 90% of the bonds

The Government Commission on Foreign Investments agreed on the sale of Vimpelcom to Russian top management with the condition of repurchasing at least 90% of the bonds issued by the Veon holding in favor of Russian investors. This was announced by the head of the Russian Ministry of Digital Development Maksut Shadayev. According to him, the ransom can take place within one to two months.

“This is the condition of the deal, in fact. If Vimpelcom’s management agrees that Russian investors are ready to sell them bonds in the amount of at least 90% of the total debt, then the deal will go through. The commission approved it on these terms. The only question is that these conditions should be the same for all bondholders,” Mr. Shadayev said on the sidelines of the Digital Almaty forum (TASS quote).

The fact that the government allowed the sale of VimpelCom by Veon holding to Russian top management, February 1 reported RBC and Forbes. At the end of January, a Kommersant source in the government reported that the commission did not agree on the deal in the current configuration and sent it “for revision.”

In November 2022, the top management of the Russian VimpelCom, headed by Alexander Torbakhov, agreed to buy an asset from the Dutch Veon in exchange for debt repayment. However, the Ministry of Finance demandedto ensure that VimpelCom fulfills its obligations to Eurobond holders. The deal was also opposed by the Ministry of Economy and the Bank of Russia. The sale scheme did not suit the holders of Veon Eurobonds, who have already tried to suspend the process through the courts.

More details – in the material “Kommersant” “VimpelCom stuck in the Netherlands”.

Milena Kostereva