French billionaire Xavier Nil said that his investment company NJJ Capital agreed to pay $500 million for the Ukrainian units of Turkcell Iletisim Hizmetleri AS.
Neal's telecoms businesses already operate in neighboring Poland through Iliad, and the high volume of roaming traffic between the countries means the deal makes sense, Neal said at a meeting with the Paris Press Association on Monday. He said that the price is "cheap" compared to the profit of the Ukrainian telecommunications operator Lifecell.
The deal, which was initially announced in December without specifying a value, will give NJJ Capital control over Lifecell LLC, Global Bilgy LLC and Ukrtower LLC. Neal said the deal is awaiting regulatory review, including a green light from Ukraine's antitrust authority.
Turkcell shares rose 1.7 percent, paring earlier losses, to 70.2 lira in Istanbul trading on Monday.
