Ukraine’s competition authority approved a sale of Turkcell’s units in the country including mobile operator Lifecell to a subsidiary of Xavier Niel-owned NJJ Capital, bringing the billionaire closer to his ambition of creating a major converged communications player in the country.

The Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine announced its blessing for NJJ company DVL Telecom to acquire Lifecell, along with infrastructure associate Ukrtower and customer relations management business Global Bilgi.  

In a brief stock market disclosure, Turkcell noted the approval satisfied one of the completion conditions for the deal, with the “closing process related to the sale” ongoing.

The authority gave the nod for NJJ to acquire fixed and pay TV provider Datagroup-Volia in April, noting the series of transactions were intended to “provide consumers with comprehensive services in the field of telecommunications”.

Should the deal for Lifecell and its affiliates be finalised, NJJ’s businesses intend to supply TV alongside packages of fixed and mobile services.

GSMA Intelligence estimated Q2 connection figures for Ukraine place Lifecell as the third largest player with 9.5 million.

Its largest competitors in the mobile sector are Veon unit Kyivstar and NEQSOL Holding-owned Vodafone Ukraine, with 23.8 million and 15.6 million, respectively.