VEON’s Kyivstar Expands Digital Portfolio with Acquisition of Uklon, Ukraine’s Top Ride-Hailing Business
VEON's subsidiary Kyivstar has agreed to acquire 97% of Uklon, Ukraine's leading ride-hailing and delivery platform, for USD 155.2 million. Uklon operates in 27 cities across Ukraine with over 100,000 driver-partners, facilitating more than 100 million rides and 3 million deliveries in 2024.
The acquisition aligns with VEON's digital operator strategy, expanding Kyivstar's digital portfolio which includes Helsi healthcare platform and KyivstarTV streaming service. Uklon recently expanded into Uzbekistan and entered the deliveries business in 2023. Current Uklon CEO Serhii Hryshkov will retain his position post-acquisition.
This announcement comes alongside VEON's USD 1 billion investment commitment in Ukraine (2023-2027) and follows the March 18, 2025 announcement of Kyivstar's planned Nasdaq listing under ticker symbol KYIV through a business combination with Cohen Circle Acquisition Corp. I.
La filiale di VEON, Kyivstar, ha concordato di acquisire il 97% di Uklon, la principale piattaforma di ride-hailing e consegna in Ucraina, per 155,2 milioni di USD. Uklon opera in 27 città in tutta l'Ucraina con oltre 100.000 autisti-partner, facilitando più di 100 milioni di corse e 3 milioni di consegne nel 2024.
L'acquisizione si allinea con la strategia di operatore digitale di VEON, espandendo il portafoglio digitale di Kyivstar, che include la piattaforma sanitaria Helsi e il servizio di streaming KyivstarTV. Uklon ha recentemente ampliato le sue attività in Uzbekistan ed è entrato nel settore delle consegne nel 2023. L'attuale CEO di Uklon, Serhii Hryshkov, manterrà la sua posizione dopo l'acquisizione.
Questo annuncio arriva insieme all'impegno di investimento di VEON di 1 miliardo di USD in Ucraina (2023-2027) e segue l'annuncio del 18 marzo 2025 della prevista quotazione di Kyivstar al Nasdaq con il simbolo KYIV attraverso una combinazione aziendale con Cohen Circle Acquisition Corp. I.
La subsidiaria de VEON, Kyivstar, ha acordado adquirir el 97% de Uklon, la principal plataforma de transporte y entrega de Ucrania, por 155,2 millones de USD. Uklon opera en 27 ciudades de Ucrania con más de 100,000 conductores socios, facilitando más de 100 millones de viajes y 3 millones de entregas en 2024.
La adquisición se alinea con la estrategia de operador digital de VEON, expandiendo el portafolio digital de Kyivstar, que incluye la plataforma de salud Helsi y el servicio de streaming KyivstarTV. Uklon se expandió recientemente a Uzbekistán y entró en el negocio de entregas en 2023. El actual CEO de Uklon, Serhii Hryshkov, mantendrá su puesto después de la adquisición.
Este anuncio llega junto con el compromiso de inversión de VEON de 1,000 millones de USD en Ucrania (2023-2027) y sigue al anuncio del 18 de marzo de 2025 sobre la planeada cotización de Kyivstar en Nasdaq bajo el símbolo KYIV a través de una combinación empresarial con Cohen Circle Acquisition Corp. I.
VEON의 자회사인 Kyivstar가 우크라이나의 주요 승차 호출 및 배달 플랫폼인 Uklon의 97%를 1억 5,520만 달러에 인수하기로 합의했습니다. Uklon은 우크라이나 전역의 27개 도시에서 10만 명 이상의 드라이버 파트너와 함께 운영되며, 2024년에는 1억 건 이상의 승차와 300만 건의 배달을 지원하고 있습니다.
이번 인수는 VEON의 디지털 운영자 전략과 일치하며, Helsi 헬스케어 플랫폼과 KyivstarTV 스트리밍 서비스를 포함하는 Kyivstar의 디지털 포트폴리오를 확장합니다. Uklon은 최근 우즈베키스탄으로 사업을 확장했으며 2023년에는 배달 사업에도 진출했습니다. 현재 Uklon의 CEO인 Serhii Hryshkov는 인수 후에도 그의 자리를 유지할 것입니다.
이번 발표는 VEON의 우크라이나에 대한 10억 달러 투자 약속(2023-2027)과 함께 이루어졌으며, 2025년 3월 18일에는 Cohen Circle Acquisition Corp. I와의 사업 결합을 통해 KYIV라는 티커 기호로 Nasdaq에 상장될 계획이 발표되었습니다.
La filiale de VEON, Kyivstar, a convenu d'acquérir 97% d'Uklon, la principale plateforme de covoiturage et de livraison en Ukraine, pour 155,2 millions USD. Uklon opère dans 27 villes à travers l'Ukraine avec plus de 100 000 partenaires conducteurs, facilitant plus de 100 millions de trajets et 3 millions de livraisons en 2024.
Cette acquisition s'inscrit dans la stratégie d'opérateur numérique de VEON, élargissant le portefeuille numérique de Kyivstar, qui comprend la plateforme de santé Helsi et le service de streaming KyivstarTV. Uklon s'est récemment étendu en Ouzbékistan et est entré dans le secteur des livraisons en 2023. L'actuel PDG d'Uklon, Serhii Hryshkov, conservera son poste après l'acquisition.
Cette annonce intervient en même temps que l'engagement d'investissement de VEON de 1 milliard USD en Ukraine (2023-2027) et fait suite à l'annonce du 18 mars 2025 de la cotation prévue de Kyivstar sur le Nasdaq sous le symbole boursier KYIV par le biais d'une combinaison d'entreprises avec Cohen Circle Acquisition Corp. I.
Die Tochtergesellschaft von VEON, Kyivstar, hat zugestimmt, 97% von Uklon, der führenden Fahrdienst- und Lieferplattform in der Ukraine, für 155,2 Millionen USD zu erwerben. Uklon ist in 27 Städten in der Ukraine tätig und hat über 100.000 Fahrerpartner, die im Jahr 2024 mehr als 100 Millionen Fahrten und 3 Millionen Lieferungen ermöglichen.
Die Übernahme steht im Einklang mit der digitalen Betreiberstrategie von VEON und erweitert das digitale Portfolio von Kyivstar, das die Gesundheitsplattform Helsi und den Streamingdienst KyivstarTV umfasst. Uklon hat kürzlich in Usbekistan expandiert und ist 2023 in das Liefergeschäft eingetreten. Der derzeitige CEO von Uklon, Serhii Hryshkov, wird seine Position nach der Übernahme beibehalten.
Diese Ankündigung erfolgt zusammen mit dem Investitionsengagement von VEON in Höhe von 1 Milliarde USD in der Ukraine (2023-2027) und folgt der Ankündigung vom 18. März 2025 über die geplante Nasdaq-Notierung von Kyivstar unter dem Tickersymbol KYIV durch eine Unternehmenszusammenführung mit Cohen Circle Acquisition Corp. I.
- Strategic acquisition of market-leading ride-hailing platform with 100M+ annual rides
- Geographic expansion into Uzbekistan market where VEON already operates
- Diversification of digital services portfolio beyond telecom
- Retention of experienced management team
- Upcoming Nasdaq listing could improve visibility and access to capital markets
- Significant capital expenditure of USD 155.2M in challenging market conditions
- Integration risks with existing operations
- Competitive pressure in ride-hailing sector
Insights
VEON's strategic acquisition of Uklon represents a significant digital expansion for its Ukrainian subsidiary Kyivstar. The
Uklon's impressive operational metrics - over 100 million rides and 3 million deliveries in 2024, presence in 27 cities, and network of 100,000+ driver-partners - demonstrate substantial market penetration. The company's expansion into deliveries and entry into Uzbekistan (where VEON already operates) signals growth momentum and cross-market synergy potential.
This acquisition aligns perfectly with VEON's stated digital operator strategy. By integrating mobility and delivery services alongside existing digital healthcare (Helsi) and streaming platforms (KyivstarTV), Kyivstar is building an interconnected digital ecosystem that increases customer touchpoints and potential revenue per user.
The planned Nasdaq listing of Kyivstar under ticker KYIV, expected in Q3 2025, represents another positive catalyst. This corporate restructuring could unlock shareholder value by allowing the market to separately value Kyivstar's Ukrainian operations and digital assets. The
This acquisition positions VEON at the intersection of two powerful digital trends: super-app development and integrated mobility platforms. By acquiring Uklon, Kyivstar gains an established technology stack and user base in the high-engagement transportation sector without the lengthy development timeline of building in-house.
The retention of Uklon CEO Serhii Hryshkov indicates strategic continuity while leveraging Kyivstar's resources for accelerated growth. This acquisition model - maintaining operational independence while creating ecosystem synergies - mirrors successful digital platform integration approaches used by global tech leaders.
Particularly noteworthy is how this acquisition complements VEON's existing digital portfolio. The combination of healthcare services (Helsi), entertainment (KyivstarTV), and now mobility/delivery creates multiple daily touchpoints with users. This approach allows for valuable data integration, cross-service promotion, and digital wallet opportunities.
Uklon's expansion into deliveries is especially timely as consumer expectations shift toward on-demand services. The company's international expansion to Uzbekistan, with mentions of potential growth into Kazakhstan, Pakistan and Bangladesh, demonstrates scalability beyond its Ukrainian roots.
VEON's partnership with Starlink for connectivity enhancement further supports this ecosystem approach, ensuring the network infrastructure can handle increased data demands from ride-hailing, video streaming, and other digital services. This comprehensive digital strategy positions VEON to capture greater wallet share across multiple service categories while leveraging its telecom foundation.
Kyiv and Dubai, March 19, 2025 – VEON Ltd. (Nasdaq: VEON), a global digital operator (“VEON”), today announces its wholly-owned subsidiary JSC Kyivstar (“Kyivstar”) has signed an agreement to acquire Uklon group (“Uklon”), a leading Ukrainian ride-hailing and delivery platform. This strategic acquisition marks Kyivstar’s expansion into a new area of digital consumer services in line with VEON’s digital operator strategy.
Uklon operates in 27 cities across Ukraine and unites more than 100 thousand driver-partners on the platform. The company facilitated over 100 million rides and more than 3 million deliveries in 2024. In 2023, Uklon entered the deliveries business and expanded its operations into Uzbekistan, where VEON’s Beeline Uzbekistan also operates as the country’s leading digital operator.
Upon closing of the deal, Kyivstar will acquire
Strategic investment to Ukraine’s Digital Economy
“Kyivstar’s investment in Uklon is more than an exciting business expansion – it is a statement of confidence in Ukraine’s digital growth potential. Uklon joins VEON’s digital products that serve 120 million monthly active users in 5 countries; and Kyivstar’s other successful digital offerings such as Helsi, the country’s leading digital healthcare platform, and KyivstarTV, one of the top digital streaming platforms of Ukraine, and digital enterprise services. We are looking forward to exploring the expansion of Uklon’s capabilities beyond Ukraine and Uzbekistan with the support of our digital operators in Kazakhstan, Pakistan and Bangladesh,” said Kaan Terzioglu, CEO of VEON Group and Chairman of Kyivstar Supervisory Board.
“Kyivstar has been at the forefront of rebuilding and enhancing Ukraine’s digital infrastructure. We look forward to welcoming Uklon to Kyivstar, adding a new and complementary expertise to our portfolio of market-leading digital services and solutions. Uklon is the leader in its market, a favorite brand for many Ukrainians, and a technology pioneer in ride-hailing. With this acquisition, we are happy to bring together two market-leading companies with strong value propositions, enhancing our ability to offer digital experiences for millions of Ukrainians 1440 minutes a day,” said Oleksandr Komarov, CEO of Kyivstar.
"Uklon has succeeded at delivering rapid organic development in recent years, including with our entry into the Uzbekistan market. We have launched new urban services like deliveries and enterprise services like Uklon AdTech. We invested in the development of our user support service, worked with partners, and strengthened our team. We have always had ambitions to move forward, both into new market verticals in Ukraine and into new geographies, and I am confident that now, with the support of Kyivstar, Uklon will have more opportunities and expertise to further improve our service in a way that provides additional value to all our users and partners,” said Dmytro Dubrovsky, co-founder of Uklon.
Committed to Ukraine’s digital future
VEON continues to invest in Ukraine’s digital future, including a USD 1 billion investment commitment between 2023 and 2027, and collaborations like its partnership with Starlink to enhance connectivity.
On March 18, 2025, VEON announced the signing of a business combination agreement with Cohen Circle Acquisition Corp. I (Nasdaq: CCIRU) that will result in the listing of Kyivstar on the Nasdaq Stock Market in the United States under the ticker symbol KYIV. The transaction is subject to the approval of Cohen Circle’s shareholders and other customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the third quarter of 2025.
About VEON
VEON is a digital operator that provides converged connectivity and digital services to nearly 160 million customers. Operating across six countries that are home to more than
About Kyivstar
Kyivstar is Ukraine's largest digital operator, serving more than 23 million mobile subscribers and over 1.1 million Home Internet fixed line customers as of December 2024. The company provides services across a wide range of mobile and fixed line technologies, including 4G, big data, cloud solutions, cybersecurity, digital TV, and more. Kyivstar has committed to invest USD 1 billion into the development of new telecom technologies in Ukraine over 2023-2027. Kyivstar has allocated over UAH 2 billion over the past two years to help Ukraine overcome wartime challenges, including providing support for the Armed Forces, clients and social projects. Kyivstar has been operating in Ukraine for 27 years and is recognized a leading employer and a top contributor to socially important initiatives.
About Uklon
Uklon is the largest ride-hailing player in Ukraine. Uklon was founded in Kyiv 15 years ago as a tech start-up, successfully competing with global players with zero dollars of external financing. The company’s founders are industry veterans with 15+ years of experience in taxi automation. Uklon’s team includes more than 700 experts, including 250 software engineers who every day improve and maintain one of the largest consumer technology platforms in Ukraine. Uklon’s digital services include ride-hailing, delivery, and other synergic mobility services, as well as AdTech for businesses.
Disclaimer
This release contains “forward-looking statements”, as the phrase is defined in Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements generally are identified by the words “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “forecast,” “future,” “intend,” “may,” “opportunity,” “plan,” “project,” “should,” “strategy,” “will,” “will be,” “will continue,” “will likely result,” “would” and similar expressions (including the negative versions of such words or expressions). Forward-looking statements are not historical facts, and include statements relating to, among other things, VEON’s and its subsidiaries’ commercial strategies and M&A plans. All statements contained in this press release that do not relate to matters of historical fact should be considered forward-looking statements including, without limitation, statements relating to, among other things, the expected listing of Kyivstar on the Nasdaq Stock Market in the United States under the ticker symbol KYIV, the proposed acquisition, the expected timing of closing the proposed acquisition, the expected impact of the proposed acquisition for Uklon, Kyivstar and the Group, and the expansion Uklon’s capabilities beyond Ukraine and Uzbekistan. These statements are based on management’s current expectations. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause VEON’s, Kyivstar’s or Uklon’s actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements in this press release, including, but not limited to; the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstances that could give rise to the termination of the agreement(s) pursuant to which the proposed acquisition is to be undertaken; the termination of the business combination agreement between VEON and Cohen Circle Acquisition Corp. I, the inability to close the business combination agreement, or close the business combination agreement on the timeframe currently contemplated; the withdrawal of the transaction approval by the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine; the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against Kyivstar, VEON or Uklon, any of their respective subsidiaries or others following or in connection with the proposed acquisition; changes to the proposed structure of the proposed acquisition that may be required or appropriate as a result of applicable laws or regulations; the risk that the proposed acquisition disrupts current plans and operations of VEON or Kyivstar as a result of the announcement and closing of the proposed acquisition; the inability to recognize the anticipated benefits of the proposed acquisition due to competition in digital mobility services, lower than expected growth in the sector or the inability of Uklon to retain its management and key employees; costs related to the acquisition; changes in applicable laws or regulations or required regulatory approvals; the escalation or de-escalation of war in Ukraine and other risks and relevant uncertainties. Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, many of which VEON cannot predict with accuracy and some of which VEON might not even anticipate. The forward-looking statements contained in this release speak only as of the date of this release. VEON does not undertake to publicly update, except as required by U.S. federal securities laws, any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after such dates or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
Contact Information
VEON
Hande Asik
Group Director of Communication
pr@veon.com
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