CMS has advised a consortium led by NJJ Holding and Horizon Capital on the acquisition of Datagroup-Volia and Lifecell. Avellum advised NJJ on obtaining merger control clearance from the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine for the acquisition. Kinstellar also advised NJJ.
NJJ Holding is an investment firm owned by Xavier Niel, the founder of the European telecom group Iliad.
Horizon Capital is a USA-based private equity firm.
Datagroup-Volia is a Ukrainian fixed telecom and pay TV provider.
Lifecell is Ukraine's third-largest mobile operator.
According to CMS, "this landmark transaction merges Datagroup-Volia and Lifecell, creating a converged telecom platform that will support the continued growth, modernization, and resilience of Ukraine's telecommunications sector. The newly combined platform will deliver mobile connectivity to nearly ten million Ukrainians, while its fixed network will reach over four million households nationwide. Future integration will enable the platform to offer a triple-play service, combining mobile, fixed connectivity, and pay-TV, enhancing service quality, pricing, and the integration of European standards."
The CMS team included Ukraine-based Partners Ihor Olekhov, Olga Shenk, Natalia Kushniruk, Olga Bieliakova, and Graham Conlon, Counsels Louise Cakar and Kateryna Chechulina, Senior Associates Vitalii Mainarovych, Inna Koval, Yavor Danailov, Mariana Saienko, Khrystyna Korpan, Mykola Heletiy, Nataliya Nakonechna, Volodymyr Kolvakh, and Maksym Morozov, Associates Ihor Pavliukov, Bohdan Ilchenko, Iryna Barlit, Iryna Kvasnytsia, Kateryna Korneliuk, Ivan Pshyk, Oleksandr Sytnyk, and Artem Grudinin, Junior Associate Bohdan Krivuts, Lawyers Denys Hatseniuk, Olga Stetsenko, and Yevhen Chornyi, and Trainees Danylo Onyshchenko, Ruslan Dotsenko, Bulgaria-based Counsel Veliko Savov, Istanbul-based Managing Partner Alican Babalioglu, Senior Associate Aysegul Onol, and Associates Ezgi Bahar and Eylul Sakoglu, as well as further team members in the UK, France, and Netherlands.
The Avellum team included Partner Mykyta Nota, Counsel Anton Arkhypov, and Associate Veronika Humeniuk.
The Kinstellar team included Managing Partner Olena Kuchynska, Partner Natalia Kirichenko, Of Counsel Ihor Kitela, Counsel Yulia Eismont, Managing Associate Oleksandra Poliakova, Senior Associates Olena Stanishevska and Mykola Lykhoglyad, Associate Diana Malysh, and Junior Associate Danylo Kholodyan.
Editor's Note: After this article was published, Clifford Chance announced that it advised the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Finance Corporation on the deal.
Additionally, Redcliffe Partners announced that it had advised the EBRD and IFC on USD 435 million financing in connection with the merger. The firm's team included Managing Partner Olexiy Soshenko, Partner Albert Sych, Of Counsel Natalia Pakhomovska, Counsels Olesia Mykhailenko and Denys Medvediev, Associates Sevastian Viktoruk, Kateryna Zheltova, Arthur Mukha, and Zakhar Kymberskyi, Junior Associates Artem Mykhailyk and Georgy Smirnov, and Paralegals Andriy Kostiuk, Olha Shcherbak, and Daryna Riashko.
