Seizure of IDS Ukraine property complexes necessary, to not stop production – Dragon Capital

KYIV. Feb 24 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The seizure and holding of simultaneous tenders for the search for a corporate rights and property manager are a standard practice for assets with Russian beneficiaries that fell under the sanctions, and a case of the seizure of the corporate rights of the manufacturer Morshynska of IDS Ukraine belonging to a citizen of the Russian Federation without the seizure of property, factories and real estate of the holding is exceptional for unknown reasons.

According to a statement released on Friday by the investment company Dragon Capital, in its practice, the Asset Recovery and Management Agency (ARMA) usually holds tenders for the search for a manager of seized corporate rights and assets of sanctioned enterprises, which follows from publicly available information of the agency.

“The seizure and holding of simultaneous tenders for the management of corporate rights and property are standard practice in Russian assets. The Morshynska case is exceptional for unknown reasons. This can be easily verified from ARMA’s publicly available information on holding tenders for the management of other assets. The seizure of property complexes does not lead to a halt in production,” the investment company said in the statement.

Dragon Capital emphasizes that it is a potential participant in the competition for the manager of the seized corporate rights of IDS Ukraine, conducted by ARMA. In case of victory in the competition of the manager from Dragon Capital and subject to the expansion of its scope of management to the holding’s property, the investment company promises to maintain the number of IDS Ukraine jobs and the allocation of funds to the state budget at a level not less than the current one. According to Dragon Capital, the introduction of such provisions for companies with Russian beneficiaries (seizure of corporate rights and property) in the conditions of this and other similar competitions would be the right recommendation for its organizers from ARMA.

In addition, Dragon Capital called on the Ukrainian authorities and judiciary to carry out the transformation of business and society in the conditions of the war with the Russian Federation, which, in particular, will result in the inevitable nationalization of Russian assets, the holding of transparent and open tenders for their management and subsequent sale, as well as the impossibility of returning such assets to their previous Russian owners through Ukrainian courts before or after Ukraine’s victory in the war.

The investment company expressed the hope that its position on IDS Ukraine coincides with the opinion of other investors of the mineral water producer, whose corporate rights were not subject to sanctions and seizure.

“We sincerely hope that our position regarding the need to compensate for the damage caused to Ukraine at the expense of Russian assets coincides with the position of the Ukrainian management and non-Russian shareholders of the IDS Borjomi group of companies, which, as of February 24, 2022, were minority shareholders, as they recently announced publicly… In the hypothetical case of our victory in the tender for management and/or tender for the further sale of this asset, we consider it necessary to cooperate with such shareholders in order to preserve the value of their assets and maximize the amount of reimbursement that the Ukrainian budget will receive,” the message says.