Large-scale privatization of the state-owned enterprises except for those strategically important will be held in Ukraine

Late in August, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine introduced a bill 4541a to the Parliament. This document allows for privatization of more than 1,000 objects previously have never been subject to privatization over the years of independence of Ukraine.
“I am appealing to the Parliament to adopt within the shortest possible time a law on the list of objects which are not subject to privatization. The Government is launching the most ambitious privatization. We are exempting 1251 objects from the list of objects prohibited to privatize”, Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said while presenting the Plan of Action on the Restoration of Ukraine at a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine (hereinafter – the CM) on 3 September, 2014.
Till the end of 2014, the CM is going to organize a privatization auction of blocks of shares of 164 enterprises. The corresponding list of objects has been approved at the meeting of the CM on 17 July, 2014. With a nominal value of shares in 3 billion UAH, their market value is estimated by the State Property Fund at about 15 billion UAH.
The Government of Ukraine has included in the list of objects of state property to be privatized in 2014, stocks of shares of Odesa Portside Plant (99.567%), Mykolaiv Black Sea Shipyard (9.604%), 18 energy companies, four thermal power plants and 36 gas supply companies. In particular, the list provides for selling 78.29% of the Company “Tsentrenergo” (which controls Trypilska, Vuglegirska and Zmiivska Thermal Power Plants), 70% – in “Mykolaivoblenergo” and “Khmelnitskoblenergo”, 25% – in “Kyivenergo” and “DTEK Dniproenergo”, 99.99% of “Odesa Thermal Power Plant”, 51% – in the companies “Kirovogradgaz” and “Cherkasygaz”, as well as 25% – in “Dnipropetrovskgas”, “Vinnytsagaz” and “Lvivgaz”.
A number of plants in the mining and construction industry, including PJSC “Dniprometrobud”, PJSC “Donbasshahtobud”, PJSC “Vuglepromprans” (100%), PJSC “Slavutskiy Concrete Products Plant” (95.85 %), LLC “Keramnadra” (50.451%), PJSC “Khersonvodbud” (49.549%) and PJSC “Ukrzakhidvuglebud” (48.667%), PJSC “Industrial Glass Company” (23%), PJSC “Construction and Assembling Management 20” (14.392%).
Moreover, the list of privatization targets contains in the current year public health, sports and recreation facilities such as Private Joint Stock Company “President-Hotel” (100%), Public Joint Stock Company “Health Complex “Prolisok” (31,07%), Private Joint Stock Company “Atomprofzdorovnytsia” (30%), Open Joint Stock Company “Tourist Complex “Cheremosh” (9,677%).
Since the early 1990s, the activity of Sergii Koziakov and Partners has been closely related to solving numerous legal issues in the field of privatization of state property ranging from participation in drafting of the first laws of Ukraine on state property privatization to the direct participation in the privatization proceedings (from legal advice as to privatization to buyers’ interests representation in competitions/auctions for the sale of objects of privatization).
Lawyers of Sergii Koziakov and Partners accompanied various stages of privatization processes of such enterprises as steel plant “Kryvorizhstal”, “Kiev Oxygen Plant”, “Chernigivnaftoprodukt”, “Chernivtsinaftoprodukt”, “Trypilsky Biochemical Plant”, “Khmelnitsknaftoprodukt”, “Sumynaftoprodukt”, “Zhitomirnaftoprodukt”, “Dnipropres”, “Umanagrosnab”, “Leninska Kuznia”, “Drogobytsky Pilot Plant” (JSC “Galol”), “Vinnitsa Confectionery Factory”, Hotel “Lybid”, Department store “Ukraine”; “Lvivoblbakaleya”; Research Institute of Applied Acoustics, Kyiv Plant “Radar”, Motor Transport Enterprise of “Kyivmiskbub”, Motor Transport Enterprise “Akhtiar” and dozens of others.
In 2013 Sergii Koziakov and Partners Law Firm participated in the privatization of “DonbasEnergo”, providing its clients with comprehensive assistance in preparing and participating in the auction for the sale of state-owned stakes (60.773%) of one of the leading energy companies in Ukraine.
Lawyers of Sergii Koziakov and Partners are always ready to provide its clients with legal advice on any aspect of the privatization of state property:
• consultations on the alienation of property of state enterprises (stocks, objects of uncompleted construction, completed property complexes, individually chosen certain property);
• assistance in establishment of joint ventures;
• representation of clients in the process of privatization of state property, cooperation with the State Property Fund of Ukraine and its regional offices;
• rendering of legal assistance to enterprises subject to privatization and their labor collectives;
• preparation of documents for participation in competitions/auctions, including obtaining of merger clearance of the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine;
• legal support of transactions on the resale of objects of privatization, including obtaining necessary approvals from privatization bodies and the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (as required by law);
• representation of owner’s interests regarding the objects of privatization, during inspections of privatization agencies as to compliance with terms and conditions of sale contracts and competition obligations applied to the objects of privatization;
• providing advice on implementation of competition conditions and investment obligations;
• promoting the pre-trial dispute settlement related to the privatization process, representation of clients within the relevant litigation procedures.