Kyivstar Eyes Nasdaq Debut as Shareholders Set to Vote on $2.2B SPAC Merger

Shareholders of Cohen Circle are being asked to vote on a proposed merger with Ukraine’s Kyivstar. If the deal is approved, Kyivstar will move forward with its listing on the NASDAQ.

The process is called voting for the so-called Business Combination – Ukraine’s largest telecom company and mobile operator Kyivstar would be merged with Cohen Circle Acquisition Corp, a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC). 

The process would enable Kyivstar to create an entity enabling listing on the Nasdaq Stock Market, making it the first ever Ukrainian public company on the American stock exchange.

The vote is taking place on Aug. 12, Scroll.media reported. Cohen Circle shareholders received the announcement from their brokers. 

$2.2B merger would bring Ukraine’s top telecom to US investors

According to Scroll.media, shareholders will vote for or against the merger of Cohen Circle Acquisition Corp. I and Kyivstar. The merger would take place if there were enough votes in favor, the media outlet wrote. 

Cohen Circle is urging all its shareholders to vote in favor of the deal, Scroll.media reports. 

Kyivstar is valued at over $2.2 billion. In a 538-page filing, Cohen Circle described it as a successful business, while also outlining the significant risks posed by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine – including population decline, refugee outflows, and the broader impact on operations.

It is very likely that the shareholders will vote “for” since Cohen Circle Acquisition Corp. I urgently needs a company for a merger, otherwise it will need to return its cash to the shareholders, Scroll.media writes. At the same time, Kyivstar and Cohen Circle will lose $70 million if there’s no IPO. 

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Shareholders appear optimistic about the upcoming merger, as shares of Cohen Circle Acquisition Corp. I are already trading at $13, above the initial range of $10–12. This suggests strong investor interest in the deal, according to Scroll.media.

Following the Aug. 12 vote, results are expected within hours. If approved, the necessary documents will be submitted to Nasdaq. The listing process typically takes two to five days, after which the deal would be finalized according to Scroll.media.

Kyivstar will be assigned its unique Nasdaq ticker symbol, “KYIV,” while its warrants will trade under “KYIVW” on the Nasdaq exchange, Scroll.media reports.

The exact date of the potential ticker’s appearance has not been announced, since the process could go faster or slower depending on Nasdaq’s decisions. Most likely, the entire deal will be closed by the end of August, Scroll.media writes. 

Kyivstar expands into ride-hailing, health tech ahead of listing

Kyivstar Group includes, as listed in the documents referred by the Scroll.media: 

• The company’s telecom business and broadband internet. Currently, Kyivstar occupies 47% of the communications market and is among the three largest broadband internet operators. This is the lion’s share of the company’s business.
• Kyivstar.Tech — 500 people, revenue for 2024 — $24.2 million.
• Kyivstar TV — two million registered users by the end of 2024.
• Uklon — acquisition of 97% in 2025 for $155.2 million.
• Helsi — in 2025, Kyivstar increased its share to 97.99%. According to 2024’s results, the company generated $5.1 million in revenue.
• Kyivstar big data and cloud services — the company’s B2B business direction, generated $11.2 million in revenue in 2024, showing almost threefold growth compared to 2023.
• 4,000 employees, but excluding Uklon, Kyivstar.Tech’s share is 13%, Helsi’s is 5%.

The company had $712 million in cash/equivalents on hand as of March 31. Scroll.media reported that the payment for Uklon was made after that date, so this is the amount prior to the Uklon acquisition.

Kyivstar confirmed that its future strategy focuses on building value-added services. Following its acquisition of Uklon, the company aims to generate 20% of its profits from outside the telecom sector by the end of 2025, according to Kyivstar’s business development officer, Zoia Dronshkevych.

Kyivstar aims to invest in assets where it can transform traditional industry approaches, for example in e-health and private clinics. The company is also searching for opportunities in advertising tech.

In January 2025, Veon Ltd., Kyivstar’s owner, signed a memorandum of understanding with Cohen Circle to merge their businesses to indirectly list Kyivstar’s shares on the Nasdaq stock exchange in the US.