Three companies apply to participate in Mykolaivgaz privatization
KYIV. July 25. (Interfax) - Three companies have applied to participate in a tender for the privatization of 25% of shares in Ukrainian gas supply and gasification enterprise Mykolaivgaz, the State Property Fund of Ukraine told Interfax.
Besides Kyiv-based Gaztek, which already owns 25.22% of Mykolaivgaz and previously announced its intentions to participate in the tender, the other companies vying to secure a blocking stake in the enterprise are Kyiv-based LLC Investment Company Finlex-Invest, which owns shares in several gas distribution enterprises, and OJSC Cherkassygaz, 24.45% of whose shares belong to Finlex-Invest.
The tender for Mykolaivgaz's privatization is scheduled for August 1 and has a starting price of UAH 18.4 million. Applications were accepted until July 24, inclusive.
The State Property Fund and Ukraine's national oil and gas company Naftogaz Ukrainy each own 25% of Mykolaivgaz's shares, and Gaztek owns 25.22%. Four Cyprus-based companies own 96% of Gaztek's shares, and according to unofficial data, Ukrainian businessman Dmytro Firtash controls the company. Gaztek's account in the national currency is serviced at Nadra Bank, which is controlled by Firtash. According to several Ukrainian media outlets, Firtash also controls Finlex-Invest.
The official exchange rate on July 25 was UAH 7.9993/$1.
