Nikopol Ferroalloy Saga Continues

The Kyiv Economic Court has scheduled a hearing on June 27 to consider the Sate Property Fund’s lawsuit seeking the return to state ownership of a majority stake (50% plus one share) in Nikopol Ferroalloy (NFER: Susp) that was sold to an Interpipe-related company in 2003. Courts ruled last year that the privatization was illegal and should be reversed; this case is about how to enforce the previous ruling. Yulia Tymoshenko, who as prime minister last year pushed for the quickest possible return to state ownership of Nikopol Ferroalloy, yesterday refused to answer when journalists asked her if she planned a new auction of the stake. Concorde Capital: The return of Tymoshenko to the cabinet and the coalition agreement to give the State Property Fund to her bloc increases the likelihood that the long-running, sometimes half-hearted effort to renationalize Nikopol Ferroalloy could finally be completed. However, her reticence to comment suggests there is also a possibility for an out-of-court settlement. The main lobby that had been pushing for re-privatization was the Privat group, which controls the rest of the ferroalloy industry. There are rumors that Privat and Interpipe have made a deal to share control over the plant, which was supposedly brought into effect with a change in management and revamp of its board at NFER’s last AGM on April 26. If Interpipe has agreed to sell all or part of the stake to Privat, Privat would now be an opponent of re-privatization.