Odesa Port Plant failed to sell at auction, state prepares repeated privatization auction

On Tuesday, November 25, the Prozorro.Sales system scheduled an auction for the privatization of JSC Odesa Port Plant with a starting price of UAH 4.49 billion, but due to the lack of registered participants, the auction was declared as not having taken place.

This was announced in a statement by the Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture, Ukrainian News Agency reports.

It is noted that the conditions for the privatization of this asset were difficult from the very beginning, as the facility requires significant investments and specialized expertise.

There is interest in the enterprise on the market, while international partners emphasized the need for additional time and adjustment of certain conditions for full participation.

Work is currently underway with all stakeholders to form a more balanced and attractive package of conditions.

The report states that under the current conditions of martial law and high risks, large industrial assets face a number of objective challenges, and for OPP it is not only the market situation and security factors, but also the total cost, which may exceed the starting price.

In particular, the investment obligations facing a potential investor, namely:

- to maintain the main activities of the plant;

- to invest in the modernization of capacities and the development of production at least 500 million hryvnias;

- to repay debts on wages and to the budget within 12 months. As of the end of June 2025, they amounted to more than UAH 366.8 million;

- to gradually repay overdue accounts payable (except for claims of sanctioned persons and structures related to the Russian Federation/the Republic of Belarus);

- to comply with environmental and social standards.

The Ministry noted that this forms the real amount that the investor should be ready to invest. The lack of demand on the starting conditions may indicate that the initial price exceeds the market price in conjunction with other financial obligations that the buyer must assume.

In order to increase the chances of selling assets at market value, the Ministry supported the bill of a group of people's deputies, which provides for the possibility of putting up large privatization objects with a gradual decrease in the starting price.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, Agro Gas Trading, which was going to participate in the tender for the privatization of the OPP, stated that there were signs of bias and the creation of artificial barriers that actually deprive it of such an opportunity.

At a meeting on September 1, the State Property Fund of Ukraine scheduled an online auction for the large privatization of a state-owned stake of 99.5667% of the authorized capital of the Odesa Port Plant Joint-Stock Company for November 25.

At the end of August, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine approved the terms of sale of 99.5667% of shares of the joint-stock company Odesa Port Plant (OPP) at an electronic auction.

OPP specializes in the production of ammonia and urea, transshipment of chemical products coming from the CIS countries for export.

99.5667% of OPP shares belong to the state, they are managed by the State Property Fund.