VEON

VEON Ltd. is a multinational telecommunication services company headquartered in Amsterdam, Netherlands. It predominantly operates services in the regions of Asia, Africa and Europe. It is the ninth largest mobile network operator in the world by number of subscribers [3] with 214 million customers.[4] More than half of the company's revenue comes from Russia.[5]

"VimpelCom" redirects here. For the Russian company founded in 1992, see PJSC VimpelCom.

VEON Ltd.
Formerly
VimpelCom Ltd. (2009–2017)
Public
Traded asNASDAQ: VEON
Euronext: VEON
ISINUS91822M1062 
IndustryTelecommunications
PredecessorPJSC VimpelCom and Kyivstar
Founded2009 (2009)
FounderDmitry Zimin
Augie K. Fabela
Headquarters
Amsterdam
,
Netherlands
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Gennady Gazin (chairman)
Kaan Terzioğlu and Sergi Herrero (co-CEOs)
ProductsMobile telephony, mobile phones retailing, international telephony, broadband Internet, IPTV, city-wide Wi-Fi, domain name registrar and others
RevenueUS$ 9.78 billion (2016) [1]
Total assetsUS$ 33.85 billion (2016)[2]
Number of employees
66,000
ParentAltimo (56.2%)
Telenor (9.0%)
Subsidiaries
Websiteveon.com

VEON's brands include Beeline, Kyivstar, Djezzy, Jazz Pakistan, Banglalink and others.

History
Main articles: PJSC VimpelCom and Beeline (brand)
Dmitry Zimin, co-founder and honorary president

Russian PJSC VimpelCom was founded in 1992 in Moscow when VimpelCom's co-founders, Russian Dmitry Zimin[6] and American Augie K. Fabela II came together to pioneer a new direction in the Russian mobile industry - their company was one of the first mobile carriers in Russia.[7] Augie Fabela, who was then a young entrepreneur from the United States, and Zimin, who was a Russian scientist in his fifties, together launched the Beeline brand in 1993. Its name derives from вымпел, the Russian word for pennon.

New York Stock Exchange
The old logo of OJSC VimpelCom during NYSE listing in 1996-2010

In 1996, PJSC VimpelCom, then the leader of Moscow cellular market (and automatically the largest mobile operator in Russia), became the first Russian company to have its shares listed on the New York Stock Exchange (with "VIP" as the ticker symbol).[8]

The company's main shareholders are Telenor, a Norwegian telecom conglomerate, and Alfa Group, a vehicle of Russian tycoon Mikhail Fridman, via LetterOne. They have been locked in a years-long struggle for control of this enterprise as well as other telecommunication assets in Eastern Europe.[9][10]

In 2008, PJSC VimpelCom obtained a 49.9% stake in Euroset, the largest mobile retailer in Russia and the CIS, which formerly belonged to its founder Yevgeny Chichvarkin.[8]

United holding company and NASDAQ
See also: Kyivstar
Alexander Izosimov was the CEO of VimpelCom Ltd. until May 2011

VimpelCom Ltd. holding company was founded in 2009. In 2009, Telenor and Alfa agreed to merge their assets in VimpelCom and Kyivstar (Ukraine's number one wireless operator) with the aim of creating VimpelCom Ltd. (incorporated in Bermuda).[11]

In October 2010, the united company acquired from Naguib Sawiris two assets:

  • Orascom Telecom Holding SAE, the largest mobile phone company in North Africa;
  • Wind Italy, the third largest mobile phone company in Italy.

As of 31 December 2011, the company had 205 million customers across 20 countries.[8] After several divestments and a business transformation, by summer 2017, VEON had a combined subscriber base of more than 200 million across 12 markets.[12]

The company announced that it would switch the listing of its ADS shares from the NYSE to the NASDAQ with trading beginning on 10 September 2013.[13]

In February 2015, the government of Algeria acquired a 51% stake in Djezzy for US$2.6 billion.[14]

2015–present

In September 2014, VimpelCom agreed to sell its majority stake in Canadian mobile operator Wind Mobile for $272 million to its minority owner Globalive.[15]

In summer 2015, the United States Justice Department claimed that VimpelCom used a network of shell companies and phony consulting contracts to funnel bribes to a close relative of the president of Uzbekistan, in exchange for access to that country's telecommunications market.[16] The board of one part-owner, Norwegian telecom operator Telenor, has severed consulting ties with its former chief executive Jon Fredrik Baksaas due to the continuing police investigation.[17]

In November 2015 the CEO, Jo Lunder was arrested on corruption charges in Oslo, Norway. The case alleges that in exchange for an operating license, VimpelCom has funneled $57.5M to Takilant, a company linked to Gulnara Karimova, the daughter of Uzbek President Islam Karimov.[18]

In February 2016, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced a global settlement along with the U.S. Department of Justice and Dutch regulators that requires telecommunications provider VimpelCom Ltd. to pay more than $795 million to resolve its violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) to win business in Uzbekistan.[19][20]

In February 2017, VimpelCom renamed itself VEON, named after the messaging platform that it had developed. The company explained that the re-branding was part of a shift towards marketing themselves as a technology company, and not solely a telecommunications firm.[21] In April 2017, VEON announced the listing and trading of shares of VEON on Euronext Amsterdam.[22]

In July 2017, VEON announced launching Personal Internet Platform named VEON in major markets: Italy, Ukraine, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Georgia. The platform provides contextualized, personalized internet experiences and opportunities, enabling customers to call, chat, read, watch, listen and share media, manage account (top up, opt in/out services).[23]

In March 2018, CEO Jean-Yves Charlier resigned and CEO duties were temporarily assumed by VEON's chair, Ursula Burns.[24] Burns was appointed as CEO, while remaining as chairman, in December 2018.[25]

In October 2019, VEON hired former ex-Turkcell CEO Kaan Terzioğlu as COO of VEON Group, together with Sergi Herrero.[26]

In February 2020, Herrero and Terzioğlu were appointed co-CEOs, succeeding Burns.[27]

In June 2020, Gennady Gazin succeeded Burns as chairman.[28]

Owners

Veon Shareholder Structure:[29]

  • 47.9% of common and voting shares owned by LetterOne (Alfa Group)
  • 43.8% of common and voting shares - Free Float ( Minority Shareholders )
  • 8.3% of common and voting shares - The Stichting

Subsidiaries and shareholdings

See also

References
  1. "VimpelCom on the Forbes Global 2000 List". Forbes. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
  2. "VEON on the Forbes Global 2000 List". forbes.com. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  3. Pavliva, Halia (12 April 2012). "VimpelCom Rises as Orascom Rejects Fine, Files for Arbitration". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
  4. "VimpelCom". vimpelcom.com.
  5. Леонид Коник (26 April 2012). "Altimo может потратить $1,5 млрд на увеличение доли в Vimpelcom Ltd. | comnews" (in Russian). Comnews.ru. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
  6. "Founders". About.beeline.ru. 28 April 1933. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  7. "Founders". About.beeline.ru. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  8. "Fact Sheet(s)". Vimpelcom.com. Archived from the original on 7 February 2013. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
  9. "Altimo of Russia steps up campaign against Telenor of Norway". New York Times. 25 March 2008. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
  10. White, Gregory L. (20 May 2009). "Norway Seeks Caution in Telenor Battle – WSJ.com". Online.wsj.com. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
  11. Nicholson, Chris V. (5 October 2009). "Telenor and Alfa Reach Deal on VimpelCom – NYTimes.com". Dealbook.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
  12. "VEON Business". VEON. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  13. "Nasdaq snags telecom VimpelCom from NYSE". Marketwatch. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  14. "VimpelCom closes Djezzy deal with Algerian government". Developing Telecom. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
  15. "Vimpelcom to sell Wind Mobile stake to Canadian minority owner" (Press release). Reuters. 15 September 2014.
  16. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-06-29/u-s-seeks-to-grab-300-million-in-uzbek-telecom-bribery-probe
  17. Editorial, Reuters. "UPDATE 1-Telenor ends consultancy deal with former CEO due to..." reuters.com. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  18. "Former VimpelCom CEO seized at Oslo airport". The Local. 5 November 2015.
  19. Press Release: "VimpelCom to Pay $795 Million in Global Settlement for FCPA Violations", U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
  20. Elco Van Groningen, "Takilant Found Guilty of Taking Bribes From Telia, VimpelCom", Bloomberg (July 20, 2016). Retrieved 21 July 2016.
  21. "Google and Facebook face an unlikely competitor in emerging markets: a telecom giant". Quartz. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
  22. "VEON to list on the Euronext Amsterdam". VimpelCom. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  23. "VEON Launches Personal Internet Platform in Major Markets". VimpelCom. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  24. "Veon's CEO resigns, chairwoman to take over temporarily, COO named". Reuters. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  25. Bicheno, Scott (13 December 2018). "Burns officially made Veon CEO at last". Telecoms.com. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  26. "VEON hires ex Turkcell CEO". digitaltveurope.com. 28 October 2019. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
  27. Burkitt-Gray, Alan (14 February 2020). "New co-CEOs for Veon as Ursula Burns reverts to chairmanship". Capacity Media. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  28. Boyadzhieva, Yanitsa (2 June 2020). "Veon settles on new chair, board members". Mobile World Live. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  29. "Veon". veon.com.
  30. http://www.vimpelcom.com/pr/fs.wbp
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