OFAC issues license for Veon to sell Vimpelcom

MOSCOW. May 4 (Interfax) - The U.S. Treasury Department office responsible for sanctions enforcement, OFAC issued a license on April 15 to allow transactions required for Veon's sale of Russian mobile provider Vimpelcom, the telecom group reported.

Veon announced in late November that it had agred to sell Vimpelcom to the latter's local senior management. Veon is expected to sell the company for 130 billion rubles, with most of this amount paid by the Russian business assuming part of the group's debt.

Veon was supposed to secure a number of regulatory approvals to carry out the sale. The group reported in February that the Russian government commission for foreign investment had given the green light.

In its report for the first quarter of 2023, Veon also said it has received "the requisite authorizations required by the UK and Bermudan authorities to proceed with the divestment." The group "does not believe that a license is required from the EU to execute the sale."

Veon's largest shareholder is LetterOne with 47.9%. The company's free float is 43.8% and another 8.3% of the group is managed by a Dutch stichting, or trust. Veon, which is based in the Netherlands, is traded on Nasdaq and Euronext.