No bidders sign up for Odesa Portside tender, deputy CEO says

The State Property Fund of Ukraine provided no information about the number of bidders who signed up for the privatization of nitrogen fertilizer producer Odesa Portside Plant, whose deadline was 6 p.m. on Dec. 6. At the same time, Odesa Portside First Deputy Director Mykola Shchurikov wrote on his Facebook page that evening that no one signed up. Namely, Shchurikov mentioned that two potential bidders – Ukrnaftoburinnia that is controlled by Igor Kolomoisky and DCH Group that belongs to Oleksandr Yaroslavsky – refused to participate in the tender. He also accused the State Property Fund’s leadership of sabotage.

Alexander Paraschiy: We had been expecting the failure of the Odesa Portside tender. However, unless the Property Fund makes an official statement about the failure, some chance remains it will take place involving at least two bidders. Besides the mentioned holdings of two oligarchs, two other companies – IBE Trade of the U.S. and Amjad Investments of UAE – were mentioned by the Property Fund as potential bidders of Odesa Portside.