Vodafone Ukraine closes acquisition of Ukrainian Internet provider Freenet

MOSCOW. Aug 24 (Interfax) - Vodafone Ukraine has completed the acquisition of Internet service provider Freenet LLC, the mobile provider reported.

"Vodafone Ukraine Group announces the completion of the acquisition of Freenet, which provides fixed Internet access under the O3 brand. The purchase of the company is part of Vodafone Ukraine's strategy to develop convergent services and rates," the company said in a press release.

"We believe that Vodafone Ukraine's fixed businesses must develop in order to serve more subscribers, providing them with high-speed Internet services, including based on modern GPON technology," Vodafone Ukraine CEO Olga Ustinova said in the press release.

The price and other details of the deal were not disclosed.

Freenet is a national broadband Internet provider that provides services in Kiev and a number of other regions, including Dnepropetrovsk, Zhitomir, Ivano-Frankovsk, Lvov, Kiev, Rovno, Khmelnitsy and Chernigov. The company, which has been operating on the market since 2008, builds its networks using FTTx and GPON technology and has a subscriber base of more than 163,000 customers.

Vodafone Ukraine, the country's second largest mobile provider, has 15.4 million subscribers. In September 2021, the company completed the acquisition of national telecom operator Vega, which provides bundled landline telephone, broadband Internet and data transmission and storage services.

Vodafone Ukraine has been part of the international group NEQSOL Holding since December 2019.