Horizon Capital Wins Real Deals Private Equity Awards 2026 CEE Deal of the Year for Datagroup-Volia-Lifecell Transaction

KYIV, Ukraine, April 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Horizon Capital, a leading private equity firm in Emerging Europe with $1.8 billion assets under management, is honored to win the Real Deals Private Equity Award 2026 Central and Eastern European Deal of the Year for their landmark Datagroup-Volia-Lifecell telecom transaction. This is the second time in the firm's history that Horizon Capital has won CEE Deal of the Year with Dmytro Boroday, Partner, accepting this award at the event in London, UK.

The Real Deals Private Equity Awards have grown over 25 years to become the most prestigious and well-established awards in Europe's private equity industry. Each year, 1,000 influential figures in the sector come together to celebrate the fund managers and advisers who have made an outstanding contribution over the past 12 months. All entries are evaluated by an expert panel of industry leaders and awards given based on merit, achievement, and submission quality.

Lenna Koszarny, Founding Partner and Chief Executive Officer of Horizon Capital, said: "The Real Deals award recognizes all who contributed to the success of this transaction, including Datagroup-Volia-Lifecell leadership and teams, our exceptional CEO Mykhaylo Shelemba, telecom and tech visionary Xavier Niel and the NJJ team, the Horizon Capital deal team led by Dmytro Boroday, Partner, as well as EBRD, IFC and the European Commission, without whom this deal would not be possible. We share these accolades with Ukraine in celebration of the strength, determination, resilience of the country and its people whose drive, determination and entrepreneurial spirt enables delivering world-class investment outcomes even in the most challenging circumstances. The success of the DVL Telecom transaction has inspired us to reach further, launching our new reconstruction-focused Catalyst Fund to replicate similar deals and attract billions to Ukraine, partnering with international strategics and global funds to accelerate their entry to Ukraine and contribute to the rebuilding, renewal and revitalization of Ukraine's strategic sectors, including energy, digital infrastructure, construction and more."  

The award recognizes Horizon Capital's leadership and innovation in structuring and executing the acquisition of Datagroup-Volia-Lifecell (DVL Telecom) – one of Ukraine's largest M&A transactions in decades – by a consortium led by global telecom and tech entrepreneur Xavier Niel's NJJ Holding alongside Horizon Capital as their minority investor. Real Deals commended Horizon Capital's vision and execution in transforming Datagroup together with its leadership team, driving 3.8x revenue growth and 4.8x EBITDA growth over five years since Horizon Capital assumed operational control of the business. The award further recognizes the firm's innovative approach to partnership and capital structuring. To accelerate NJJ's market entry to Ukraine, Horizon Capital-managed Horizon Capital Growth Fund II, L.P. partnered with NJJ, re-invested a portion of exit proceeds alongside NJJ in DVL Telecom, and attracted $435 million in debt financing from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), backed by the European Commission's Ukraine Investment Framework, to conclude this transaction. This deal represents a $1.5 billion investment in Ukraine, combining acquisition price and guaranteed capex, despite ongoing war, underscoring the confidence of international investors in Ukraine's resilience and secure future.

Dmytro Boroday, Partner and Investment Committee Member for Catalyst Fund, added, "This award recognizes not just another private equity exit, but something far more meaningful and significant. It recognizes the largest deal completed in Ukraine in the past decade, executed in the middle of a full-scale war, with no real precedents in modern history. We are proud to be nominated in this category alongside great PE houses including Invalda, MCI Capital and MidEuropa who have inspired us throughout the years and delivered stellar results in our region, and to take this prestigious award back home to Kyiv."

Horizon Capital is a leading private equity firm in Emerging Europe with over $1.8 billion in AUM from investors with a capital base exceeding $700 billion. The firm's investment strategy focuses on backing visionary entrepreneurs leading fast-growing businesses in Ukraine and Moldova. Horizon Capital-managed funds have invested in 200+ companies employing over 56,000 people. Its latest fund launched, Catalyst Fund, aims to reach its €300 million target, with >50% raised to date, to attract €3 billion in capital to Ukraine.

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