Oleg Krot, co-founder of the Techiia IT holding company, intends to invest $50 million in the bankrupt Polish agricultural tractor manufacturer Ursus over the next five years, whose assets he acquired at a tender on October 24 for PLN 74 million ($18.5 million), according to a report by Forbes Ukraine.
“We plan to invest $50 million in Ursus over five years,” the publication quoted Krot as saying.
According to Forbes Ukraine, within the first 12-18 months, Krot intends to resume production of agricultural machinery at Ursus plants, which have been producing mostly trailers and bodies in recent years.
“At this point, it’s important not to run after some illusory goal, but to increase production of trailers and launch tractors,” he says.
The goal for the next five years is to resume tractor deliveries to Africa and Asia, and, according to Krot, they also plan to attract American investors with whom they have preliminary agreements.
According to Krot, co-founder of Techiia IT holding, the company is investing its own funds from dividends in the purchase of Ursus.
According to the Polish edition of Tygodnikiem Poradnikiem Rolniczym, Ursus was acquired by the Polish M. I. Crow, co-founded by Polish citizen Bożena Głowacka and Oleg Krot, who is also the company’s president.
The acquired assets include production facilities and real estate in the cities of Dobre Miasto and Lublin, the communes of Zakroczyme and Bedaszki, documentation of research projects, machinery and equipment, warehouses, as well as the use of the Ursus trademark.
In an interview with Tygodnik Poradnik Rolniczy, Głowacka noted that the new owner is currently developing a detailed plan for Ursus’ activities after the takeover.
The publication notes that the owner intends to develop a new development strategy for the tractor manufacturer, preserve existing jobs and hire new specialists, as well as increase Ursus’ production capacity.
According to the Polish publication, Ursus, which has a nearly 100-year history of producing tractors under the same brand, was declared bankrupt in July 2021 after a sharp drop in sales. Three tenders for its sale were then held, but the first two failed due to the lack of buyers, and the only participant in the third was M.I. Crow with a registered capital of PLN 50 thousand. At the same time, the starting price of the assets was reduced by 40% to PLN 74 million compared to the previous tender.
Earlier it was reported that in 2013, the Ukrainian corporation Bogdan, in consortium with Ursus, won a tender for the supply of 38 low-floor trolleybuses to the municipality of Lublin. Bogdan supplied the bodies and components for them, Czech Cegelec supplied the control system, and the final assembly was carried out at Ursus’ facilities.
According to the website of the Techiia holding, co-founded (managing partners) by Krit and Yuriy Lazebnikov, it unites more than 10 technology companies in the unmanned aerial vehicles, IT, e-sports, construction technologies, SaaS, and is considering prospects for investment in other industries.
