Veon (company)

2009-2016

VEON Ltd. was founded in 2009 as VimpelCom Ltd., a multinational holding company. Incorporated in Bermuda and headquartered in the Netherlands, VimpelCom was formed when Telenor and Alfa agreed to merge their assets in the telecommunications companies PJSC VimpelCom and Kyivstar. At the time of the incorporation, Kyivstar was Ukraine's largest wireless operator, while PJSC VimpelCom was the second-largest telecommunications operator in Russia. Kyivstar had been founded in 1994 by Ihor Lytovchenko, who also served as its long-term CEO. PJSC VimpelCom, founded in 1992 by American businessman Augie K Fabela II and Dmitry Zimin, was established as a mobile carrier. It launched its Beeline brand in 1993 and listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1996.

Under CEO Alexander Izosimov, VimpelCom acquired Orascom Telecom and Wind from Naguib Sawiris in 2011. After a number of acquisitions, as of 31 December 2011 VimpelCom had 205 million customers across 20 countries, and by 2012 it was the 13th-largest mobile network operator in the world by number of subscribers. The company switched its listing from the NYSE Euronext to the Nasdaq on 10 September 2013. It sold its majority stake in Wind Mobile to Globalive in 2014 for US$272 million. In 2015, the government of Algeria acquired VimpelCom's 51% stake in Djezzy for US$2.6 billion.

In February 2016, VimpelCom reached settlements with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the United States Department of Justice and Dutch authorities over violations related to its business in Uzbekistan. The company agreed to pay more than US$795 million in penalties and disgorgement, and the settlement required it to retain an independent compliance monitor for at least three years. VimpelCom reported revenue of US$9.78 billion in 2016, while its assets were reported at US$33.85 billion.

2017-2022

In February 2017, VimpelCom renamed itself VEON, after the messaging platform that it had developed. The company said the rebranding was part of a shift towards positioning itself as a technology company rather than solely a telecommunications firm. VEON began listing its shares on Euronext Amsterdam in April 2017. In July 2017, VEON launched a personal internet platform named VEON in Ukraine, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Italy and Georgia. Following a number of divestments and a business transformation, by mid-2017 VEON had around 200 million combined subscribers across 12 markets.

In March 2018, CEO Jean-Yves Charlier resigned, and CEO duties were temporarily assumed by VEON's chair, Ursula Burns. Burns was appointed CEO in December 2018 while remaining chair. In October 2019, VEON hired Sergi Herrero and former Turkcell CEO Kaan Terzioğlu as joint chief operating officers. They succeeded Burns as co-CEOs in February 2020, and in June 2020 Gennady Gazin succeeded Burns as chairman.

In 2020, VEON purchased the remaining 15% stake in Jazz from Abu Dhabi Group, giving it full ownership. The company also sold its Armenian operations to Team LLC in 2020. In July 2021, Terzioğlu became VEON's Group CEO, with oversight of VEON's executives and regional CEOs assigned to separate markets. The company sold its Georgia unit for US$45 million in June 2022. In August 2022, VEON completed the sale of its remaining stake in Djezzy to the government of Algeria for US$682 million.

Following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, VEON announced the sale of its Russian operations in November 2022.

2023-2025

VEON completed the sale of its Russian operations on 9 October 2023, ending its presence in the Russian market. Following the sale, the company reduced the size of its board from 11 to seven members.

On 25 November 2024, VEON delisted its shares from Euronext Amsterdam, leaving Nasdaq as the company's sole public trading venue. In December 2024, the company moved its group headquarters from Amsterdam to the Dubai International Financial Centre in the United Arab Emirates.

In August 2025, VEON completed the sale of its 50.1% indirect stake in Sky Mobile, which operates under the Beeline brand in Kyrgyzstan, to state-owned Eldik Bank. On 15 August, shares of Kyivstar began trading on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol KYIV, making it the first Ukrainian company to list on a United States stock exchange.

For 2025, VEON reported total revenue of US$4.399 billion, compared with US$4.004 billion in 2024.

VEON shareholder structure:

• 45.5% of common and voting shares owned by LetterOne Investment Holdings S.A
• 7.9% of common and voting shares owned by The Stichting
• 7.2% of common and voting shares owned by Lingotto Investment Management LLP
• 6.8% of common and voting shares owned by Shah Capital Management Inc.

VEON operates in five markets through its telecommunications and digital-services businesses.

• Banglalink (Bangladesh), Bangladesh's third-largest mobile network operator, with approximately 43.9 million subscribers as of February 2024.

• Beeline (Kazakhstan), VEON's telecommunications and digital-services operator in Kazakhstan.

• Jazz (Pakistan), Pakistan's largest mobile operator, with more than 74 million customers. Jazz launched 5G services in March 2026.

• Kyivstar (Ukraine), Ukraine's largest mobile operator. Kyivstar began trading on the Nasdaq in August 2025, becoming the first Ukrainian company listed on a U.S. stock exchange.

• Beeline (Uzbekistan), VEON's telecommunications and digital-services operator in Uzbekistan, serving approximately 7.7 million mobile subscribers.

In summer 2015, the United States Justice Department claimed VimpelCom had used a network of shell companies and phony consulting contracts to funnel bribes in exchange for market access in Uzbekistan. VimpelCom's affiliate Telenor severed consulting ties with Telenor's former CEO Jon Fredrik Baksaas due to the police investigation.

In November 2015, VimpelCom CEO Jo Lunder was arrested on corruption charges in Oslo, Norway. The case alleged that in exchange for an operating license, VimpelCom funneled $57.5 million to Takilant, a company linked to Gulnara Karimova, the daughter of Uzbek President Islam Karimov. The case was settled in February 2016, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the U.S. Department of Justice, and Dutch regulators requiring VimpelCom to pay $795 million to resolve violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).