Supreme Court Strips Pinchuk Of Nikopol Ferroalloy.

The Supreme Court has ruled that Nikopol Ferrowalloy was no longer the property of the Prydniprovya Consortium. Concorde Capital: In 2003, the Prydniprovya Consortium bought a 50%+1 stake in Nikopol Ferroalloy (NFER: SELL) from the state for USD 77 mln. The consortium is a privatization vehicle for Viktor Pinchuk’s Interpipe group. In 2005, the new authorities decided to investigate the lawfulness of NFER’s privatization. The recent ruling of the Supreme Court implies that the state will be able to auction the 50% stake in NFER again, like it did with Kryvorizhstal. However, the Prydniprovya Consortium has already stated they will appeal to the

European Court. We believe that there is a good chance that NFER will face re-privatization later this year, and one of the most eager bidders will be Privat group, which controls other major Ukrainian ferroalloy plants and manganese ore beneficiation plants.