ZALK's Privatization Saga Ends.

On November 30, 2005, the Supreme Court of Ukraine ruled that the purchase of a 68.01% stake in the Zaporizhzhya Aluminum Mill (ZALK: BUY) by Russia’s AvtoVAZ-Invest complied with Ukrainian legislation. AvtoVAZ-Invest bought these shares from the state in 2001, but the acquisition was challenged by a company related to AvtoKRAZ, which also took part in the tender. Concorde Capital: In 2003-4, the litigation battle went back and forth however, AvtoVAZ-Invest was successful in defending its position. Then in early 2005, following SUAL’s take over of AvtoVAZ-invest, the ownership conflict involving ZALK re-ignited, when the Tymoshenko government began pushing for ZALK’s re-privatization. However, by mid-2005 the company’s owners came to terms with the government. We believe the Supreme Court’s ruling has put this conflict to bed.