The cost of Odesa oil refinery bought by the VETEK Group came to some $125 million, the beneficiary of the group, Serhiy Kurchenko, said in an interview with Forbes Ukraine.
“UMH (United Media Holding, one of the largest players in the Ukrainian media market) cost some $170 million, the club (FC Metallist Kharkiv) was less than $100 million and the Odesa oil refinery… Lukoil stopped the refinery as it did not bring profits. How muchcould the unprofitable refinery cost? Unfortunately, under the contract, I cannot disclose the sum. Finally, $100 (million) plus $175 (million) plus Odesa oil refinery… at best, it is $400 million. I stress that this is the maximum figure,” he said.
Thus, the cost of the UMH deal does not exceed $340 million (under the conditions of the deal the second half of the sum is paid by April 2014), the cost of Odesa oil refinery does not exceed $125 million and for FC Metallist – $100 million. Kurchenko did not say what the cost of the football club includes (the stadium, infrastructure, players).
He said that apart from his own funds, VETEK raised loans, including from VTB Bank.
“We’ve been building relations with banks for many years. We have good relations with VTB and other banks. We’re actively attracting commercial financing. I think that we’re the most active among all Ukrainian groups in the use of financial instruments,” Kurchenko said.
The co-owner of the VETEK Group also said that the acquisition of the football club helps him to establish relations in business.
Earlier Kurchenko said that the group of companies VETEK has paid Russia’s Lukoil in full for the Odesa oil refinery.
In early March, Lukoil and VETEK Group signed an agreement on the purchase and sale of Odesa oil refinery. In early April, start-up work began at Odesa oil refinery, which will allow the resumption of production at the refinery.
Urals oil supplies to Odesa oil refinery are planned by sea via handling terminals in Odesa. In addition, the possibility of supplying crude oil via the Kremenchuk-Odesa pipeline is being mulled.
The Odesa facility can refine 2.8 million tons of crude oil per year. The plant was shut down in October of 2010 due to the economic situation that had developed on the oil-product market in Ukraine, and also due to changes to the oil delivery scheme.
VETEK trades in liquefied and natural gases, oil products, goods for the oil and gas sector, and runs some 150 filling stations. The main shareholder, Kurchenko, became the owner of the football club Metallist Kharkiv at the end of last year.
