Ucom remains without management: over 400 employees, including founders and technical composition, resign

YEREVAN, April 10. /ARKA/. More than 400 employees at Ucom, a telecommunication company in Armenia, have submitted their resignations, a source in the company told ARKA News Agency.

The Operator without Employees

Information that Ucom employees are resigning appeared in the Armenian media at night. The reason is that disputes arose between the leaders and shareholders of Ucom. According to various sources, the discord arose over the company owners’ intention to appoint Andrei Pyatakhin, who currently runs Beeline, another telecommunication company, as director to Ucom.

“More than 400 employees, including the founders of the company, brothers Hayk and Alexander Yesayan, have already submitted their resignations,” the source said.

According to the source, one day before their resignation, the entire technical staff of the company, directors and middle managers resigned and the process continues.

Apple of Discord

The source of ARKA at Ucom said that despite the fact that the Yesayan brothers and their team founded the company, later the sons of the former head of the State Revenue Committee Gagik Khachatryan and a Russian businessman of Armenian descent Samvel Karapetyan also acquired a share in it through his bank and a friend. The share of the Yesayan brothers was 6%, they were also entrusted with the management.

The disagreement between the sons of Gagik Khachatryan and the managers of the company began from the moment it became clear that the management will be carried out by people appointed by Beeline, after ousting the Yesayan brothers and the founder team.

In addition to discord with the Khachatryans, there are also disagreements with those managing shares of Samvel Karapetyan, there are also discrepancies over strategic ideas.


Pyatakhin did not Leak Information

On December 27, 2019, VEON Armenia, which owns the Beeline brand, applied to the Public Services Regulatory Commission in order to obtain permission to sell its shares to Ucom. Later, both companies officially confirmed the fact of negotiations on a possible deal.

However, it was reported by the Armenian media that the CEO of Beeline in Armenia Andrei Pyatakhin leaked commercial information to complete the deal, in exchange for a promise that he would retain the position of CEO in the new-merged company.

Nara Nazaryan, spokesperson for Beeline in Armenia, explained to ARKA News Agency that no changes are taking place in the company. Beeline in Armenia is part of an international group of companies, and Andrei Patyakhin is the CEO.

Is the Deal in Question?

On February 11, 2020, Armenia’s State Commission for the Protection of Economic Competition began considering an application for the sale of VEON Armenia CJSC (Beeline brand) to Ucom.

A maximum of 90 days is provided to the antitrust agency for consideration of the application, during which the regulator, having considered all the documents, must make a decision. However, due to the situation with the spread of the coronavirus and the declaration of a state of emergency in the country, the commission decided to suspend the consideration of the company's application.

About the Companies

The Armenian company Ucom (Universal Communications) was founded in 2007. Ucom, being one of the flagship players in Armenia’s telecommunications market, provides a full range of services in this field: high-speed symmetric Internet, IP-television and digital telephony.

VEON Armenia CJSC (Beeline trademark) provides fixed and mobile communication services. Since April 2007, 100% of the shares of VEON Armenia CJSC (formerly ArmenTel CJSC) belong to the Veon Group, which is one of the world's largest integrated telecom operators. –0—

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15:13 04/10/2020