A Russian company has received clearance from Ukraine’s anti-trust agency to buy Ukraine’s largest perfume retailer.
If closed, the acquisition will give Alcor a large chunk of a domestic perfume and cosmetics market that is estimated to be worth $2 billion annually.
A Brocard spokesperson said the company won’t comment on the deal until it is finalized by the end of the month.
Alcor, which manages the L’Etoile and Bon Joli retail networks in Russia, on May 19 received permission from Ukraine’s Anti-Monopoly Committee to acquire more than 50 percent share of stock in two offshore companies that control Brocard, which has 63 outlets in Ukraine.
The acquisition symbolizes the growing dominance of Russian business groups on the Ukrainian market. Russia is the fourth largest foreign direct investor in Ukraine, according to the State Statistics Committee.
Ukrainian analysts valued the company’s value at below $150 million.
A deal has been in the works for some time, according to Roman Klym of business consultancy Rapport Ukraine. “This company was not facing financial problems. This was a money-making venture,” Klym said. “There are some people who make money by developing a business and brand and then sell it. This company was prepped for a sale.”
The acquisition symbolizes the growing dominance of Russian business groups on the Ukrainian market. Russia is the fourth largest foreign direct investor in Ukraine, according to the State Statistics Committee. As of Jan. 1, Russia had invested more than $3.4 billion into post-Soviet Ukraine.
Ukraine’s foreign direct investment per capita stands at $978, the government agency said, much lower than geographical peers. Russian companies are mostly involved in banking, telecommunications, oil and gas, energy, metals and machine building.
Kyiv Post staff writer Mark Rachkevych can be reached at [email protected].
