Kernel acquisition deals under review by Ukraine state committee

Ukraine’s leading sunflower oil producer Kernel (KER PW, KERPW) has sent documents for two recent acquisitions to the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine for review, a committee spokesperson told Interfax-Ukraine on April 3. Kernel didn’t disclose the names of the companies due to confidentiality rules, Interfax said. Kernel declined to comment, but reiterated its plans to expand the company’s land bank by 200,000 to 250,000 hectares, which could cost up to USD 150 mln, based on the estimates of CEO Andriy Verevskiy.

Igor Zholonkivskyi: Ukraine’s media reported last week that Kernel might be in the final stages of acquiring the holding company Ukrainian Agrarian Investments, citing anonymous sources. Now that a government agency has confirmed the two acquisitions are in progress, we see higher success for the UAI deal.