"Kyivstar starts trading on Nasdaq. It is the first Ukrainian company with a US listing

Kyivstar, Ukraine's largest mobile operator, has announced that its shares will start trading on the Nasdaq exchange on August 15. This is the first Ukrainian company to be listed on a stock exchange in the USA. The parent group VEON positioned Kyivstar's securities as an opportunity for foreign investors to bet on Ukraine's recovery, which largely depends on the prospects of peace talks with Russia.

"Kyivstar announced that on August 14 it completed the merger with SPAC (a shell company created to go public and then merge with another, non-public company) Cohen Circle Acquisition. The company will now operate under the name Kyivstar Group. Its common stock and warrants will begin trading on Nasdaq on Aug. 15 under the tickers KYIV and KYIVW, respectively. At the time of closing the deal with SPAC, parent group VEON owned 89.6% of Kyivstar Group.

Cohen Circle investors approved the deal with Kyivstar at an extraordinary shareholders' meeting on August 12. Before that meeting, shareholders who bought SPAC shares on the open market had an opportunity to return them and get their investments back if they did not support the deal. However, only 25.4% of them exercised the right to repurchase, the press release noted. As a result - and thanks to earlier agreements with Helikon, Clearline and other institutional investors who pledged not to repurchase their shares - the project raised $178 million.

"Kyivstar's story is a unique combination: a visionary and future-oriented strategy, solid implementation [of business plans], strong growth, prudent capital allocation and a commitment to rebuilding our home country of Ukraine. We are pleased to share this unique story with international investors looking for high growth opportunities," said Kyivstar President Oleksandr Komarov.

According to Yahoo Finance, shares of parent VEON are now trading on Nasdaq with a P/E multiple (ratio of share price to projected earnings) of about 10. "If Kyivstar trades at a multiple higher than VEON, it will be considered a successful offering," Brian Best, managing director of investment banking at Dragon Capital, told Forbes.

The start of trading in Kyivstar securities in the United States coincided with the day on which US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are expected to hold talks in Alaska. The meeting, which is being closely watched by Ukraine and European countries, could become a turning point in the peace process, Reuters noted.

"Kyivstar is the leader of the Ukrainian telecommunications market. It has a subscriber base of more than 24 million people. The company's revenues and profits have increased since the start of the conflict with Russia, despite cyberattacks and power outages. Over the past three years, Kyivstar has strengthened its ties with the United States: the company brought former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo onto its board of directors and entered into an agreement with Elon Musk's Starlink to provide satellite communications services.

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Freedom customers can access Kyivstar shares in the US. To participate, click on the ticker KYIV.US.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor