Russian operator Megafon and USM Telecom, part of Megafon's parent company, are starting a joint venture with the Uzbekistan government, to take over the local mobile operator Ucell. The Russian companies pledged to invest USD 100 million in the company and contribute Uzbekistan assets owned by USM, including the companies CRPT Turon and ICS Holding Uzbekistan.
USM Telecom and Megafon have founded the company Digital Invest for participation in the project, with each owning 50 percent. Digital Invest will own a 51 percent stake in the joint venture Digital Holding, and the Uzbekistan Agency for Management of State Assets will own 49 percent. The deal is planned to be finalised this year.
Digital Holding will focus on the deployment of the telecommunications infrastructure. Gevrok Vermishyan, the CEO of Megafon, said that serious structural changes aren't planned at Ucell. Rather the new joint venture will focus on realising synergies and the introduction of best practices.
Ucell provides services under the GSM, UMTS, LTE and 5G standards. It is a state-owned company since December 2018, when Telia sold its interest.
