SPF Does 360, Cancels LTPL Tender.

After saying yesterday that the hall was ready and the live tender would be carried out, the State Property Fund (SPF) announced this morning that it was postponing the tender for a 76% stake in Luhanskteplovoz (LTPL: HOLD) due to ongoing legal conflicts concerning the company. Olha Pankiv: The Kyiv Court of Appeals overturned two rulings by a lower court yesterday, apparently clearing the way for the privatization before the SPF’s announcement this morning.  The on going legal conflict the SPF is referring to is a Higher Administrative Court ruling from September which ordered the State Property Fund to sell the stake to AvtoKrAZ (KRAZ: BUY), which the court ruled had legitimately won a 2001 tender that authorities of the time cancelled.  There is little doubt that this decision was made by the Cabinet, which has been against the tender from the get go. We don’t expect the government to clear up the situation surrounding LTPL before the new year.