Vodafone Ukraine receives buyback offers exceeding its $10.8 mln tender by factor of 8.7
Ukraine's second-largest mobile operator, VF Ukraine (Vodafone Ukraine, VFU), which since late May has repurchased nearly $7 million of its own eurobonds in connection with dividend payments, received buyback offers at its latest tender, covering $10.84 million in nominal bonds, exceeding that amount by at least a factor of 8.7.
"Since the total amount of bonds submitted under the Tender Offer significantly exceeded the Tender Offer Amount, the submitted bonds will be accepted for purchase on a pro rata basis, using a scaling factor of 0.1150681," the company said in an exchange filing on Friday.
Settlement is scheduled for November 20.
As reported earlier, Vodafone Ukraine repurchased the equivalent of EUR 1 million in bonds in each of its first two tenders. The debut buyback was priced at 99% of par, and the second at 90%. The company did not disclose results of the second tender, while the scaling factor for the first was 0.0040355668.
In the third tender, priced at 85% of par and capped at $4.67 million, Vodafone Ukraine received $53.395 million in offers and accepted $5.208 million, with a scaling factor of 0.1315451889487317.
The fourth tender was announced on August 13 and subsequently extended seven times. During the process, the buyback price was increased from 85% to 98% of par, and the purchase amount was raised to $10.84 million.
The bonds mature in February 2027 and carry a coupon of 9.625%. They were originally issued for $300 million. Following cancellation of repurchased bonds, the outstanding nominal amount now totals $292.532 million.
The eurobond buybacks are linked to Vodafone Ukraine's April 24, 2025, announcement of dividend payments to its shareholder totaling UAH 660.245 million ($15.9 million at the exchange rate cited). Due to National Bank restrictions, dividends are paid in monthly installments. Each monthly dividend is expected to equal the hryvnia equivalent of EUR 1 million. Under the bond terms, the company must offer bondholders the option to sell bonds in an amount equal to any dividends paid abroad. Seven monthly dividend payments, each equivalent to roughly EUR 1 million, have already been made.
Vodafone Ukraine increased its net profit by 10.7% in the first nine months of this year, to UAH 3.4468 billion, and its revenue by 13.3% to UAH 19.03 billion.
The report also noted that to service and repurchase eurobonds, the company is receiving loans from related parties. In February, parent company Telco Investments B.V. provided $49.59 million for partial eurobond repayment. In June, Vodafone Ukraine signed a dollar-denominated credit-line agreement with Telco Investments for the equivalent of UAH 660 million at 10% interest, maturing in 2028.
Finally, in July 2025, the company signed a $10 million loan agreement with Dutch firm Cemin B.V. at 10% interest, with repayment due no later than the end of 2027 but not before eurobond redemption. The funds are disbursed in tranches to the company's foreign bank account and must be used for bond buybacks conducted due to the resumed dividend payments.
