Kherson-based Gistion LLC is the new owner of Amtel. The Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine granted Histion permission to acquire Amtel through the purchase of the International Logistics Company in November 2023. The change of ownership took place in March 2024.
Dragon Capital did not disclose the amount of the deal. According to Forbes, based on these estimates, the total cost of the logistics complex could have been $35-40 million. A source familiar with the deal notes that this figure is not true and that the deal is much higher.
Amtel is a Class A logistics complex with a total area of 100,208 square meters. It was the largest property in Dragon Capital’s portfolio.
The founders of Histion are Oleg Lebedenko and Gennady Girin. The entrepreneurs own the New Style Door Factory trademark.
Girin is the CEO of the 33 m² chain, which unites 25 construction supermarkets. He also owns the company’s trademark and a stake in the Suvorovskiy shopping center in Kherson. Lebedenko owns the Betonera building materials trademark.
Before the full-scale war, Dragon Capital Group owned 778,000 square meters. Now it owns about 531,000 square meters of commercial real estate: during the war, the company lost three properties and sold three more.
In addition to the sale of Amtel, in 2022-2023, the group found new owners for two office centers in Kyiv.
The office center on Dilova Street in Kyiv was acquired by the Red Cross Society of Ukraine, according to the State Register of Real Property Rights.
In 2023, Soft Construct Limited bought the Seasons of the Year business center. Its beneficiaries are Armenian citizens Vigen and Vage Badalyan. They are co-owners of the global gambling software developer BetConstruct. In December 2022, they withdrew from the co-founders of the bookmaker Bbet Ukraine, according to YouControl data.
Ukraine will be able to harvest more than 4 mln tonnes of rapeseed in the season-2024, UkrAgroConsult analytical agency forecasts.
“The State Statistics Service released the official data on the rapeseed harvest in 2023 – 4.2 mln tonnes (+26% compared to 2022/2023 MY), but the export and domestic processing rates prove that the official statistics need to be reassessed,” the analysts said.
They reminded that the export of rapeseed and processed products continues to be at the record pace even in the last months of the season. During the 10 months of the season, the country exported 3586.2 thsd tonnes of rapeseed (+5% compared to 2022/23 MY), 134.1 thsd tonnes in April; 406.1 thsd tonnes of rapeseed oil; 351.9 thsd tonnes of rapeseed meal.
Experts believe that the 2024 rapeseed harvest can also be forecasted on the basis of the revised estimates, according to which it may reach more than 4 mln tonnes.
“Weather remains the key factor in the yield formation. The impact of the cold wave and night frosts on the soil in early May is yet to be assessed, so in the future, the forecast of rapeseed harvest may be reduced,” UkrAgroConsult said.
More than 2,600 companies have been founded by foreigners in Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. Citizens of Turkey, Uzbekistan, Poland, and the United States are the most frequent business owners in Ukraine.
2652 companies have been opened by foreigners in Ukraine since the start of the full-scale war. In total, citizens from 100 countries invested in the country during the war.
Among all foreign businessmen, Turkish citizens were the most likely to open a business in Ukraine. Residents of the republic are listed as owners in 354 Ukrainian companies. This is 13% of the total number of new businesses with foreign beneficial owners.
Uzbek citizens are owners of 274 new Ukrainian companies and occupy the second position in the rating. This is 10% of the total number. Polish citizens round out the top three with 193 businesses, or 7% of the total number of companies with foreign owners opened after 2022.
The top list also includes citizens of the United States, Kazakhstan, Germany, Azerbaijan, and Israel. It is worth noting that one company may have more than 1 owner.
The largest business opened by foreigners since the start of full-scale operations is TENS1MA LLC with an authorized capital of UAH 1.28 billion. The owner of the business is an Armenian citizen.
The second place is taken by JSC Closed Non-Diversified Venture Corporate Investment Fund Jugen. The authorized capital of this company is UAH 700 million, and the ultimate owner is a US citizen.
LFS LLC with an authorized capital of UAH 300 million, owned by a Polish citizen, rounds out the top three.
“Poninkivska Cardboard and Paper Mill-Ukraine (PCPM-Ukraine, Khmelnytsky region), a major Ukrainian corrugated cardboard producer, increased its corrugated packaging output by 21.2% in January-April 2024 compared to the same period in 2023, to 30.5 million square meters.
According to Ukrpapir Association statistics provided to Interfax-Ukraine, the mill is now one of the top three producers of corrugated packaging after Kyiv Cardboard and Paper Mill and Trypillia Packaging Mill.
Over four months, the plant also increased production of containerboard by 11% to 24.4 thousand tons, and produced 0.33 thousand tons of paper against 0.21 thousand tons a year earlier.
In monetary terms, in January-April, PCBF-Ukraine produced UAH 838.3 million worth of products, up 13.2%.
As reported with reference to the data collected by the association from the main enterprises of the industry, in January-April 2024, the production of paper and cardboard in Ukraine increased by 6.5% compared to the same period in 2023 – up to 189.7 thousand tons, cardboard boxes – by 21.7%, to 187.4 million square meters.
Poninkivska Paper Mill (formerly Poninkiv Cardboard and Paper Mill), once the largest producer of school notebooks, now has one main production line – paper and cardboard, producing mainly corrugated cardboard and corrugated packaging, as well as wrapping and waste paper.
The plant is part of the United Cardboard Company-Ukraine (UCC, Lutsk) owned by businessman Mykola Lobov, whose production assets include, among others, Lutsk KBF-Ukraine (Volyn region), which produced 21.2 thousand tons of various cardboard (21.8% more) and 14.8 million square meters of corrugated boxes in four months (according to Ukrpapir).
As reported, in 2023, PCBF-Ukraine produced products worth almost UAH 2 billion 450 million, up 3% year-on-year.
On May 15, the state enterprise Delta-Lotsman (Mykolaiv) announced a tender for voluntary insurance of liability to third parties for maritime accidents caused by the fault of marine pilots, pilot-operators of the insured’s vessel traffic control service in the performance of their official duties.
According to the electronic public procurement system ProZorro, the expected cost of the service is UAH 1.171 million. The tender security is an electronic guarantee of UAH 35 thousand.
The deadline for submission of bids is May 24.
SE “Delta Pilot” was established by order of the Ministry of Transport of Ukraine in 1998 in order to improve conditions for ensuring safety of navigation, protection of human life at sea and the environment, in the territorial sea of Ukraine in accordance with the requirements of international agreements and conventions, streamlining the structure of marine pilot services in the north-western part of the Black Sea.
The National Bank of Ukraine has decided to apply to PJSC Insurance Company Salamandra (Kiev) a measure of influence in the form of revocation of all licenses, according to the regulator’s website.
Also, in compliance with the requirements of the law “On Insurance”, in connection with the presence of the company’s obligations under insurance (reinsurance, coinsurance) contracts on May 14, 2024 decided to appoint a temporary administration in PJSC “IC “Salamandra” and removal of the governing bodies from the management of the company.
These decisions have been taken according to the results of planned inspection, conducted in October-December 2023, during which it was established the fact of realization by IC of risk activity, threatening the interests of creditors and insurers, namely formation of insurance reserves in insufficient amount (more than 10% of their sufficient amount, determined by the legislation of Ukraine) three times during the calendar year.
The decision on application of the measure of influence came into force on May 14, 2024.
After taking this decision, the temporary administrator should immediately begin to fulfill his duties, is noted in the message.
IC “Salamandra” (formerly – “DIM Insurance”) is part of the eponymous non-banking financial group, the ultimate beneficiary and owner of which is Yuri Yavtushenko.
IC Salamandra is a member of the Motor (Transport) Insurance Bureau of Ukraine.
