Vodafone Ukraine (Vodafone)

20 years under MTS and a sale with a 38% discount ahead of sanctions

Vodafone Ukraine is the second largest mobile operator in the country, with 15 million subscribers. Despite the "British" brand, the company has no connection to the British Vodafone Group: the brand is merely licensed. The real history of the company is MTS and Vladimir Yevtushenkov's AFK "Sistema," effectively Russian Mobile Telephony at the heart of the Ukrainian telecom market from 2003 to 2019.

Sale driven by panic

The main shareholder of AFK "Sistema," Yevtushenkov, was almost added to the US sanctions list last year — which would have posed major problems with the British Vodafone Group, the rights holder of the brand. The Russians evidently hurried to exit: Bakcell acquired Vodafone Ukraine at a 38% discount from market value. Analysts valued the company around $1.37 billion — sold for $734 million. Confiscated assets of Yevtushenkov in Ukraine were transferred to the State Property Fund.

The only operator not “nationalized” in Donbas

Since the beginning of the Russian occupation of Donbas, "MTS-Vodafone" has been the only operator not "nationalized" by Russian terrorists. The network operated in the occupied territories — and only in January 2018 did the company "cease providing services" citing alleged damage to an optical cable. Within a few days, service in occupied Luhansk partially resumed. This issue has never received an official investigation. The current owner is the Azerbaijani NEQSOL Holding via Bakcell.