Austrian artist Gustav Klimt’s “Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer” was sold at a Sotheby’s auction in New York for $236.4 million, according to Bloomberg.
The portrait, painted between 1914 and 1916 and completed two years before the artist’s death, became the most expensive work of modern art and the second most expensive painting ever sold at auction. The buyer’s name has not been disclosed.
Elisabeth Lederer is the daughter of Austrian businessman August Lederer. During the occupation of Austria, she pretended to be Klimt’s daughter to hide her Jewish origins. The Nazis stole the portrait from her family, but in 1948 the painting was returned, after which it was sold to art dealer Serge Sabarsky in 1983. In 1985, the painting was purchased by Leonard Lauder, son of the founders of the Estee Lauder brand, who remained the owner of the painting until his death at the age of 92 in June this year.
Another 23 lots from the Lauder collection were sold at auction, including a drawing by Vincent van Gogh and a bronze statuette by Henri Matisse, for a total of $527.5 million.
A diamond brooch, believed to have belonged to Napoleon Bonaparte, was purchased by a private collector for $4.4 million at a Sotheby’s auction in Geneva.
This significantly exceeded the estimated value of $150-250 thousand.
According to the lot description, this brooch can be clearly identified as a hat decoration left by Napoleon in his carriage during his retreat from the battlefield at Waterloo in 1815. The Prussian army then captured and confiscated at least two carriages carrying the emperor’s personal belongings, including his medals, weapons, silverware, hat, and jewelry box.
Field Marshal Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher made a note that he had sent Napoleon’s captured hat and sword to the Prussian King Frederick William III because they had symbolic value. The brooch remained in the possession of the royal house of Hohenzollern for about two centuries, and in recent years has been in a private collection.
The jewelry is round in shape. In its center is an oval diamond weighing 13.04 carats. The main stone is surrounded by nearly a hundred smaller diamonds of various shapes and sizes.
Another lot related to Napoleon was presented at the Royal & Noble Jewels auction – a green beryl weighing almost 133 carats. The first written mention of this stone appears in the will of Elizabeth Ludovika of Bavaria, Queen of Prussia. It is described as “an aquamarine in a diamond setting worn by Napoleon during his coronation.”
The green beryl was sold for $32,000, with an estimate of $40,000-60,000.
The State Property Fund (SPF) of Ukraine has put up for auction in the Prozorro.Prozori system 100% of the state-owned shares of JSC “Radiorele Plant” (Kharkiv) at a starting price of UAH 234.4 million, which is twice the price at the repeat auction in February this year, which did not take place.
According to the SPF, the online auction is scheduled for October 28.
The property includes 5 units of real estate (non-residential buildings, warehouses, workshops, etc.) with a total area of 49.14 thousand square meters, 12 units of vehicles and special equipment manufactured between 1983 and 2013, one of which has been transferred to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The company’s balance sheet also includes 3.51 thousand items of equipment, furniture, inventory, 114 items of technical literature, and 41 intangible assets.
In addition, as of September 15, 2025, part of the real estate with a total area of 479.4 square meters has been leased.
According to the terms of the tender, the buyer of JSC “Radio Relay Plant” is obliged to pay off debts on wages and to the budget within six months from the date of transfer of ownership, as well as to prevent the dismissal of employees (as of June 30, 2025, 57 people worked at the plant).
The plant’s main product range consists of low-current, miniature electromagnetic relays.
According to information from the State Property Fund, as of June 30, 2025, overdue accounts payable amounted to UAH 2.512 million, including UAH 1.28 million in wages, UAH 0.14 million in insurance, and no wages.
In January-June 2025, the plant incurred losses of UAH 5.7 million (UAH 10.3 million for the whole of 2024) and net income of UAH 2.3 million (UAH 5.2 million). The average monthly salary was UAH 10,900 (UAH 10,200).
The plant’s sales volume for the period from 2022 to the first six months of 2025 amounted to UAH 23.1 million, including exports of UAH 6.8 million.
As reported, in early February 2025, the State Property Fund of Ukraine put up for auction the state-owned stake in JSC Radio Relay Plant, but after it failed to take place due to the absence of participants, the price was halved at a repeat auction to UAH 117.2 million, which also failed to take place.
Ukrzaliznytsia plans to introduce fixed-term contracts for the sale of scrap metal in order to increase buyer interest and ensure predictable revenue for the company itself, according to Yevhen Shramko, head of Ukrzaliznytsia’s Repair and Production Division.
“Currently, lots consist of 300 tons, 400 tons, and 1,000 tons. We will prepare a legal basis for putting up scrap metal that will still be processed. It is not yet physically on site, but we will cut and process it in order to ship it to the buyer,” Shramko said at a meeting with associations and businesses in Kyiv on Thursday.
According to him, this will enable buyers to have predictable scrap metal supplies and work on large contracts.
According to an Interfax-Ukraine correspondent, during the meeting, it was reported that between June and August 2025, 77 auctions were successfully held, and 28,200 tons of scrap metal were sold. Currently, 95,500 tons are ready for sale, including 22,600 tons put up for auction. An additional 131,000 tons are being prepared for sale.
Shramko also said that the single price for loading services had been reduced to UAH 1,143,000 including VAT, but now the company is offering scrap metal at a price that varies depending on the loading point and loading method.
At the same time, the price does not currently depend on the type of scrap metal, but this may change in the future.
As reported, in June this year, Ukrzaliznytsia held its first successful online auctions for the sale of scrap metal after a pause of more than a year and a half.
State-owned Oschadbank (Kyiv) has put the Ramada Encore hotel and the Europa business center up for sale through the OpenMarket (SE “SETAM”) the Ramada Encore hotel and the Europa business center under a financial leasing procedure, setting the initial value of the capital property at over UAH 797 million.
The bank’s statement notes that the administrative and hotel complex with a total area of 39,590 square meters and a two-level parking lot of 17,500 square meters is being auctioned off under financial leasing terms. The property includes a 22-story four-star Ramada Encore hotel and the Europa business center.
The hotel has 332 rooms and 58 apartments, and its infrastructure includes a conference center of over 4,000 square meters with 20 conference rooms, a two-level parking lot, fitness centers, and restaurants.
The property is located in Kyiv on Stolychne Shosse, 103, at the intersection of three major highways in the direction of Obukhiv and Koncha-Zaspa, which ensures high traffic and accessibility.
According to the terms of the auction, the starting price of the financial lease property is UAH 797.7 million.
The winner of the auction will be determined by the highest bid for the amount of the first lease payment, which participants will submit during the auction. The bid increment is UAH 1 million.
The term of the financial lease is 10 years (120 months), with a schedule of subsequent payments specified in the lot documentation. The lessor’s remuneration is 8.59% per annum, calculated on the outstanding balance. To participate in the auction, a guarantee payment of UAH 10 million must be made.
The auction is scheduled for August 19, 2025.
As reported, Wyndham Hotel Group (WHG) opened its largest four-star hotel under the Ramada Encore brand in June 2012 as part of the Stolychny multifunctional complex (formerly Domosfera) at 103 Stolychne Shosse in the Holosiivskyi district of Kyiv.
In March 2024, Oschadbank put up for sale through the Atmosfera shopping and entertainment center’s electronic trading system the Ramada Encore Kyiv hotel in the capital, 11 land plots in Kozin (Kyiv region), and a monetary claim against Niteo Company LLC for UAH 1.79 billion.
According to Opendatabot, the owner of Niteko Company LLC is FC NJ Management LLC, and the ultimate beneficiary is Dmytro Buryak.
“Ukrzaliznytsia announces auctions for the sale of crushed stone. The first auctions for 72.5 thousand tons of crushed stone will be held on July 24-25 on the Prozorro Sales website, the company’s press service reports.
The release specifies that the sale of crushed stone became possible due to the decision of the Cabinet of Ministers, which simplified the procedure for disposing of property for Ukrzaliznytsia and granted permission to sell it.
The company has already held a meeting with the business to discuss current issues of the crushed stone market and the prospects for selling through electronic auctions.
The auctions will be based on the English auction principle, and Ukrzaliznytsia expects active competition among the participants.
In the future, the company plans to sell almost 1.3 million tons of crushed stone through separate lots.
