By Gianluca Lo Nostro and Leo Marchandon

(Reuters) – Telecoms group VEON is moving ahead with its plan to float its U.S. unit Kyivstar, in a move that would make it the first Ukrainian company to go public in the United States.

Dubai-based VEON has signed a letter of intent with Cohen Circle to combine their businesses, with the aim of indirectly listing Kyivstar on the Nasdaq, where the parent company also has its sole listing after pulling out of Amsterdam in 2024.

VEON aims to complete the listing of Kyivstar, Ukraine’s leading mobile operator, through a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) by the end of the year, a single source familiar with the matter told Reuters with the agreement

A SPAC was chosen because it would be a simpler process than going through a standard IPO, the source added.

A definitive agreement with Cohen Circle, also listed on the Nasdaq, is expected by the second quarter of 2025, VEON said in a statement.

The source said VEON had selected the US over Europe and Asia, where it operates its fintech and telecom brands, because it is the fastest-growing stock market in the world and so the listing will open the door to international investors. .

The Ukrainian telecommunications market, a strategic sector often targeted by Russian hackers, has been opening up to international investment. Last September, French billionaire and Iliad founder Xavier Niel bought Lifecell, Ukraine’s third-largest mobile phone provider, for more than $500 million.

The planned US listing follows Kyivstar’s partnership with Elon Musk’s Starlink last December to provide direct-to-cell satellite connectivity to the war-torn country later this year.

Ukrainian and US authorities had been very supportive of the listing project, which is seen as a means of rebuilding Ukraine’s telecommunications infrastructure as well as its services for consumers and businesses, the source told Reuters .

VEON has pledged to invest $1 billion in Ukraine’s digital infrastructure by 2027.

(Reporting by Leo Marchandon and Gianluca Lo Nostro in Gdansk; Editing by Milla Nissi)