VEON closes $81M acquisition of Kazakhstan's OLX classifieds platform
What's the deal? VEONDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →'s subsidiary Beeline KazakhstanDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has completed its acquisition of 100% of OLX KZ, the country's online classifieds platform, for $81 million. The seller is OLX Global B.V., and the price includes roughly $6 million of completion adjustments.
What does OLX do? OLX KZ runs a marketplace for goods, services, real estate, jobs, and automotive listings. It reaches more than 52% of Kazakhstan's active internet population, with about 9 million monthly active users, and reported annual revenue of just over $28 million for the year ending March 2026.
What's the endgame? The deal advances VEON's digital operator strategy of folding category-leading services into its connectivity base. OLX KZ joins a portfolio spanning financial services, healthcare, education, and entertainment, and follows recent additions including ride-hailing firm UklonDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and health marketplace Tabletki.uaDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → in Ukraine, plus TPL InsuranceDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → in Pakistan.
By the numbers: In the second quarter of 2026, VEON served 227.7 million digital customers. Digital revenue grew 53.6% year-on-year and now accounts for over a quarter of group revenue.
Why now? Beeline Kazakhstan announced the agreement in October 2025 and closed it after securing regulatory approvals. OLX Group will provide transitional IT services under a handover arrangement to keep the platform running during integration.
"This acquisition marks another milestone in the digital operator strategy that is reshaping VEON," said chief executive officer Kaan Terzioglu. Jabbor Kayumov, chief executive officer of Beeline Kazakhstan, said combining connectivity with OLX KZ's reach will "deliver new digital experiences to millions of Kazakhs."
The signal: VEON is converting its telecom base into a broader digital ecosystem, buying established platforms rather than building them. The OLX deal shows telecom operators moving deeper into e-commerce and marketplaces to lift revenue per customer beyond connectivity.
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Image credit: OLX
