On Tuesday, Kyivstar shares jumped 17% in their second day of trading after the company — a subsidiary of Veon Ltd. — went public through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). Trading on Nasdaq under the ticker KYIV, the shares fully recovered losses from the debut session.
“I’m convinced that the news unfolding right now is strongly influencing market demand,”
— wrote Mark Malek, Chief Investment Officer at Siebert Financial.
Kyivstar serves nearly 23 million mobile subscribers and offers additional services such as video streaming, ride-hailing platforms, and digital healthcare tools. Last year, the company signed a deal with Elon Musk’s Starlink to roll out satellite mobile connectivity in Ukraine as a safeguard against Russian attacks on telecom infrastructure.
“Aside from some exciting tech partnerships with Starlink, the company remains a classical European telecom,”
— Malek added, noting that despite its digital offerings, Kyivstar “needs to focus on the fast-growing communications technology segment to unlock its full growth potential.”
Investor interest in companies linked to Ukraine’s recovery has also increased in 2025. A UBS basket of European stocks expected to benefit from post-war reconstruction has gained 32% year-to-date, compared to a 9.1% increase in the Stoxx 600 index.
Following the SPAC merger, Veon, a Dubai-based telecom group, now holds around 90% of Kyivstar’s shares. Veon’s American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) also rose 4% on Tuesday. Former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who joined Kyivstar’s board, has also been a member of Veon’s board since May 2024.
Veon — which counts Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman among its shareholders via LetterOne Investment Holdings — won an appeal in a Ukrainian court in November, overturning the freeze of its corporate rights in Kyivstar. According to company filings, LetterOne owns 45.5% of Veon.
