Uzbekistan’s Competition Committee has approved VEON’s acquisition of mobile operator Perfectum, the agency’s press service reported.
VEON UZB Holding Ltd, a UAE-registered company that owns 100% of Unitel, which operates Beeline Uzbekistan, applied to the regulator for permission to acquire all shares in Rubicon Wireless Communication, the legal entity behind Perfectum.
The committee’s special commission approved the deal subject to several conditions aimed at ensuring competition. In particular, Perfectum must continue operating as an independent mobile operator for at least three years after the acquisition.
The company is also expected to expand its 5G Standalone network to other regions. It must maintain existing 5G fixed wireless access (FWA) tariffs for current subscribers for at least 12 months, offer “comfortable conditions” for new users and ensure that average internet speeds do not fall below 300 Mbps.
The new owner must guarantee subscriber rights and must not worsen service conditions without justification. It is prohibited from unilaterally imposing terms unrelated to the subject of a contract or restricting subscribers' freedom to switch to other operators.
The company is also prohibited from forcing subscribers to use Beeline and VEON digital platforms or restricting their access to competing services.
VEON must protect subscribers' personal and commercial data, refrain from using it to restrict competition and not transfer it to foreign servers where doing so would violate Uzbek law. The company must also comply with the Law on Competition and ensure a “healthy competitive environment” in the market.
The Deal and Its Background
VEON’s press service announced the signing of an agreement to acquire Perfectum on October 19. Under the terms of the deal, the transaction is valued at approximately $207 million, including around $93 million in Perfectum’s debt assumed by the buyer.
VEON said the acquisition would significantly strengthen Beeline Uzbekistan’s position in the country’s telecommunications market by integrating spectrum assets and infrastructure. The operator will gain 115 MHz of spectrum in the 850 MHz and 3,800 MHz bands, increasing Beeline’s total spectrum holdings by approximately 50%.
The assets being transferred also include modern network equipment, including a 5G Standalone network built on Nokia solutions. Beeline expects these resources to help meet growing demand for data transmission, accelerate 5G deployment and expand wireless broadband access across Uzbekistan.
At an August open dialogue between the president and entrepreneurs, Farhod Mamatjanov, majority shareholder of InfinBank and founder of Uztex Group, asked for assistance in obtaining a conclusion from the Competition Committee to facilitate a $200 million investment.
The president took the matter under his personal supervision. After reviewing the mobile communications market, the antimonopoly authority gave preliminary approval for the economic concentration, finding no risks to competition.
In mid-July, the Competition Committee announced that it had approved a deal involving the sale of a 50% stake in Perfectum. The regulator reviewed an application by “citizen F. Mamatjanov” seeking approval to acquire a 50% stake in Rubicon Wireless Communication, which operates under the Perfectum brand.
The special commission concluded that the transaction would have no adverse effect on competition and approved the agreement.
The English version of this material was generated with the assistance of AI translation tools and may differ slightly from the original text.
