KYIV. June 14 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Kernel, a large Ukrainian agricultural group, has become a 100% owner of Ukrainian Agricultural Investments (UAI), the company said on its website.
Kernel, in particular, bought an additional 7.9% stake in the deal, which was announced June 2.
As reported, on June 2 Kernel reported it had completed the acquisition of a 92.1% stake in the company, which manages more than 190,000 hectares of leased agricultural land and grain storage facilities for about 200,000 tonnes.
The company will pay $155 million for a 100% stake in the business.
The buyer noted the net working capital of the purchased business exceeds its net debt by more than $30 million.
The company specified the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMC) approved the transaction in May this year, however it does not disclose the name of the acquired agricultural holding.
At the same time, the AMC previously said in May it allowed Jerste B.V. (Amsterdam, the Netherlands), part of Kernel, to acquire over 50% in Ukrainian Agrarian Investments S.A. (Luxembourg), the holding company of Ukrainian Agrarian Investments.
UAI Holding was founded in 2005 by a group of financial investors led by Renaissance Partners investment company.
IVANO-FRANKIVSK. June 14 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Danosha in February-March 2017 received UAH 3.8 million of state subsidies, the company director for development, Liubov Bohachevska, has said.
“Subsidies work. Earlier we raised the issue of VAT and could not get refunds, but at present we have received 95% of subsidies claimed, which is about UAH 3.8 million for February-March. The main thing for us was to manage to register and we did it,” she said at a press conference in Ivano-Frankivsk.
Bohachevska noted the opening of the land market in Ukraine has a double meaning for the company.
“There are fears that we, as a company with foreign investments, will not be able to buy land, and there will be other restrictions,” she said.
According to the expert, the company believes there won’t be problems with landowners, since they have “good and stable relations.”
“First land owners should ask us whether we are ready to buy land, and then sell it to others. There is just a small nuance: we cannot buy at all [as a company with foreign investments].The best option of opening the market for us is, of course, the possibility of buying land by the company, because we are ready for this,” she said.
In addition, she said Danosha is now carrying out risk management on the issue of land reform.
KYIV. June 14 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The Ukrtiutiun Association of Cigarette Manufacturers considers the automated system of control over turnover of excisable goods proposed by the government to be imperfect and complicating the work of legal producers.
According to an association press release, the draft law provides for an onerous mechanism for providing excise bills by business entities at each of the supply chains with filling in 15 points manually.
Manufacturers of cigarettes also consider the term of introduction of the automated system from April 1, 2018 to be unreasonably optimistic.
At the same time, the association noted the system proposed by the government will not create additional obstacles for illegal trafficking in excisable goods in comparison with the existing mechanisms.
“The wording of the bill approved by the government is a “pig in a poke” for manufacturers of excisable goods, since the functioning of the system will be determined by Cabinet acts, which does not allow understanding the mechanism of its work. It is logical to assume that all the provisions of the first draft of the bill, which were not perceived by the business community and were excluded, will appear in by-laws,” association CEO Valentyna Khomenko said.
KYIV. June 14 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Naftogaz Ukrainy on June 12 signed an agreement with PricewaterhouseCoopers Polska Sp. Z o.o. (Poland), which won a tender to manage the department for natural gas transportation, according to data in the ProZorro system.
As reported, Naftogaz Ukrainy expects that the services will provide an effective separation of the gas transportation function from Naftogaz Ukrainy Group in accordance with the unbundling plan approved by Cabinet resolution No. 496 of July 1, 2016.
The term of rendering services is till December 31, 2017.
PwC in the course of trading expressed its readiness to become an adviser for UAH 10.785 million, while Boston Consulting Group Sp. Z o.o. for UAH 10.8 million (including VAT). Thus, with the expected cost of services being UAH 24.409 million, PwC reduced the offer by 2.3 times from the initial price.
KYIV. June 13 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in June 2017 improved its forecast for corn yield in Ukraine in the 2017/2018 marketing year (MY, July-June) by 500,000 tonnes compared to the May forecast, to 28.5 million tonnes.
According to a report on the website of the U.S. department, the forecast for corn exports was also raised by 500,000 tonnes, to 20.5 million tonnes.
The USDA maintained the forecast for wheat exports from Ukraine in the 2017/2018 MY at the level of 14.5 million tonnes with the yield being 25 million tonnes, which corresponds to the figures published in May.
In general, the U.S. agency improved the forecast for grain production in Ukraine by 500,000 tonnes, to 62.29 million tonnes, exports by 500,000 tonnes, to 38.81 million tonnes due to the growth of corn figures.
As reported, Ukraine since the beginning of the 2016/2017 MY and as of June 8, 2017 had exported 41.667 million tonnes of grain.
Grain harvest in Ukraine in 2016, according to the State Statistics Service, amounted to about 66 million tonnes.
KYIV. June 13 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Canada’s Earth Alive Clean Technologies has gained registration in Ukraine for the sale of its organic and patent-pending biofertilizer, Soil Activator®.
“The registration process was challenging, but Ukraine is a strategic starting point for Earth Alive in Eastern Europe. It has enormous potential for agricultural growth, and actively seeks to expand its productivity in sustainable ways,” the company said in a press release citing Director of Business Affairs for Earth Alive Miguel Monroy.
According to the report, Ukraine has 32.5 million hectares in arable crops, which benefit from the country’s rich soil resources. The main crops are wheat, sunflower and corn, and a significant 800,000 hectares are dedicated to fruit and vegetable production.
Earth Alive’s Chief Agronomist Simon Neufeld said that Soil Activator® has a proven track record of increasing production and economic returns in a broad range of field and horticultural crops, including corn. Ukraine is perfectly positioned to benefit from Soil Activator® as the country seeks to expand its agricultural output while protecting its soil and water resources, he said.
Initial commercialization and distribution in Ukraine is underway, and product has been shipped to the region. Farm applications have already begun for the current growing season, including on-farm commercial tests in corn by a very large Ukrainian agroindustrial company.
“Registration in Ukraine gives Earth Alive new visibility in the European market, and begins the company’s expansion in this dynamic region,” Chief Executive Officer Michael K. Warren said.
Earth Alive aims to be a key player in world markets of environmentally sustainable industrial solutions. The company works with the latest innovations in microbial technology to formulate and patent innovative products that can tackle the most difficult industrial challenges, once only reserved to environmentally harmful chemicals and additives.
