IBE Trade Corp (United States) is considering the possibility of acquiring the Odesa portside factory (Odesa region) after all the issues related to privatization of the factory are resolved.
Yevhen Khaletskyi, a spokesman for IBE Trade Corp's representative office in Ukraine, announced this to Ukrainian News.
"[The terms under which IBE Trade Corp will participate in a competition for the Odesa portside factory] are official announcement of a competition, the possibility of objective evaluation of the attractiveness of the facility, a concrete starting price, transparent investment obligations. If a privatization process starts specifically the way I have described, we will consider participating in the competition," Khaletskyi said.
IBE Trade Corp is considering the possibility of participating in a competition for the Odesa portside factory jointly with Yara International ASA (Norway).
"Such a possibility is being considered. Yara has significant financial and technological resources," Khaletskyi said.
IBE Trade Corp did not say the maximum price it is willing to pay for the Odesa portside factory.
As Ukrainian News earlier reported, the faction of the State Property Fund headed by Andrii Portnov decided on May 19 to postpone privatization of 99.52% of the shares in the Odesa portside factory.
The Prosecutor-General's Office filed a criminal case against Portnov, whom the Cabinet of Ministers appointed as the acting chairman of the State Property Fund, on May 19 on suspicion of attempting to illegally privatize state assets.
Portnov's faction of the State Property Fund planned to hold a competition for 99.52% of the shares in the Odesa portside factory in the Cabinet of Ministers building on May 20.
The Cabinet of Ministers approved the terms of a competition for 99.52% of the shares in the Odesa portside factory and set the starting price at UAH 3 billion on February 11.
The State Property Fund announced a competition for the 99.52% stake on February 20.
President Viktor Yuschenko suspended the privatization of the factory on April 15 by suspending the Cabinet of Ministers February 11 directive that approved the terms of privatization of 99.52% of the shares in the factory.
The State Property Fund canceled the competition on April 21.
