Sayenko Kharenko has acted as legal counsel of Volia, a leading Ukrainian Pay-TV and broadband service provider, on sale by its holding company Volia Limited of the Ukrainian Volia Group companies to Datagroup. Sayenko Kharenko has also acted as one of the transaction counsels of both Volia and Datagroup in relation to obtaining merger clearance for the transaction from the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine.

The merger of Datagroup and Volia is expected to be a great step forward expanding and modernising national last-mile and fiber infrastructure, increasing digitalisation, and bridging the digital divide by attracting significant investments. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has supported the deal by providing a loan to Datagroup that primarily finances the acquisition of Volia to help build a stronger, more competitive telecommunications operator with improved quality of service and an expanded product range.

The deal was signed in November 2020 and completed at the beginning of June 2021. Sayenko Kharenko provided legal support in the course of transaction structuring, drafting and negotiating of the sale and purchase agreement, support in satisfaction of conditions precedent, and assistance with the completion of the transaction. The firm’s competition/antitrust practice advised on merger control implications of the transaction, represented the parties in the course of merger clearance review by the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine, including an in-depth investigation (equivalent to Phase II review in the EU), and helped secure unconditional merger clearance. Previously, Sayenko Kharenko has carried out a vendor due diligence of the Volia Group.

“I am grateful to Sayenko Kharenko team for professional and coordinated work on the transaction from the first days of working on the project together and until completion of the transaction. I would like to acknowledge the high level of customer orientation of the whole team, readiness to work 24/7 to achieve the set goals within the given deadlines and professionalism in everything,” comments Zhanna Kitayeva, CFO of the Volia Group.

Volia is a leading player on the Ukrainian B2C telecommunications market, that provides modern telecommunications services: analog, digital, HD- and interactive television, high-speed Internet access, and services of one of the largest data centres in Ukraine. It offers more than 200 TV channels from Ukrainian and the best international TV companies, online cinemas and content libraries from the world’s best studios, observing all international standards in the field of copyright and related rights.

Datagroup is a leading national fiber operator in Ukrainian B2B segment, which is majority owned by a fund managed by Horizon Capital. It is the only provider of satellite connectivity in Ukraine and provides a wide range of services for business, including the construction of corporate networks, Internet services and television, access to banking services, cybersecurity and protection against DDoS attacks, telephony and outsourcing contact centre services, cloud services and data centre services. For individuals, Datagroup provides Internet, television, and telephony services.

Sayenko Kharenko’s transactional team was led by partner Alina Plyushch and senior associate Mykhailo Grynyshyn with support from senior associate Dmitriy Riabikin and associates Yaroslava Chernyshchuk and Zarina Khalimon. Partner Vladimir Sayenko, senior associate Julia Kuyda and associate Snizhanna Sheshliuk advised on antitrust matters. The vendor due diligence team was led by senior associate Mykhailo Grynyshyn under the supervision of partner Vladimir Sayenko and included senior associates Oksana Daskaliuk and Pavlo Kovalchuk, associates Tetiana Dyvak, Daria Karlenko, Zarina Khalimon, Sviatoslav Kozak, Mykola Lykhoglyad and Kostiantyn Zablotskyi.