VEON Ltd. (NASDAQ: VEON) has confirmed changes to its capital structure. The company disclosed that the two group-level loan agreements totaling RUB 90 billion with Sberbank and Alfa-Bank have been converted to PJSC VimpelCom, with the former borrower (VEON Finance Ireland) and guarantor (VEON Holdings BV) released.
While neither bank is subject to EU sanctions targeting their corporate lending portfolios, the winding down of these loans has enabled us to guarantee that the vast bulk of the Group’s RUB liabilities are kept within Russia and, as such, are paired to the market where RUB revenues are generated.
Having followed this process, HQ’s external debt now includes USD 4.0 billion in dollar bonds, RUB 50 billion in ruble bonds, and USD 0.4 billion in RCF drawdown. In 2022, the group has no significant additional debt maturities at the headquarters level. The conversion of the ruble loans more carefully aligns ruble liabilities with ruble revenues and lessens HQ’s external debt, said Serkan Okandan, VEON’s Chief Financial Officer.
Previously, VEON was notified by The Nasdaq Stock Market’s (Nasdaq) Listing Qualifications Department that it is not in conformance with the minimum bid price requirement outlined in Nasdaq’s Listing Rule 5550(a) (2). The notification of the Minimum Bid Price has no immediate impact on the continued listing status of VEON’s American Depositary Shares (“ADSs”) on Nasdaq. Furthermore, the receipt of the notification has no impact on VEON’s business operations.