Datagroup has reached an agreement to acquire 100% of Volia group of companies in Ukraine, with the full backing of Horizon Capital's EEGF II fund.
EEGF II is the sole financial investor in Datagroup with a 96.13% stake, alongside CEO Mykhailo Shelemba, who holds 3.87%. This transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals.
The merger will allow Datagroup to realize operational synergies, invest into modernization of our networks, continue to provide best-in-class service for our customers, and create greater opportunities for our employees, said the Company. Each company focuses on different customer segments – Datagroup is the leader in B2B segment with only 15% of its revenues generated by B2C, while Volia is the leader in the B2C segment with less than 5% of its revenues generated by B2B customers. Post-integration, the combined business is expected to generate revenues exceeding $130 million and over $50 million in EBITDA, with one of the lowest leverage ratios among large telecom companies in the CEE region. We hope that our example will pave the way for greater investor interest and significant investments in Ukraine's infrastructure throughout the country, by both domestic and global players.
Mykhailo Shelemba, Datagroup Chief Executive Officer and shareholder
The fixed broadband market in Ukraine is extremely fragmented with over 5,000 internet service providers operating in the country. This large fragmentation does not allow most players to maintain high investment levels necessary to continuously introduce new technologies for their customers, which is critical in this modern, digital world.
Anton Dzyubenko, CEO of Volia
On behalf of Volia, our management team and employees, we look forward to embarking on this journey together with Datagroup and Horizon Capital. We are proud of our team and our significant achievements over the years and look forward to new successes in the future on the basis of our consolidated platform.
