The Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU) returned the first application for a high-profile deal between a United Arab Emirates-based defense conglomerate and Fire Point, a Ukrainian major deep-strike drone and missile manufacturer.
According to previous reports, the UAE’s EDGE Group, a state-owned defense conglomerate, had intended to purchase some 30 percent of Fire Point, implying a transaction value of roughly $760 million.
It would allow EDGE to take a minority position in the company and, if completed, would rank to be the largest publicly disclosed foreign investments into Ukraine’s defense-tech sector since Russia’s full-scale invasion, Kyiv Post previously reported.
Iryna Terekh, who was recently appointed as Fire Point’s CEO, claimed that the return is a standard part of the regulatory process and does not indicate a final rejection of the partnership.
Terekh noted to Defender Media that the AMCU returned the initial filing due to the need for additional documentation, and the company already submitted a second application to account for all state requirements.
There have been no signals from the government that the deal would be permanently blocked, the CEO added.
“It is entirely normal for the AMCU not to accept an application on the first attempt,” Terekh was quoted as saying by Defender Media.
“We are interested in providing full documentation to comply with state standards rather than seeking workarounds to attract this capital. Our strategy is to set a new standard of transparency in the Ukrainian business environment.”
Fire Point produces the “Flamingo” missile, capable of traveling 3,000 kilometers (1,864 miles), and FP-1 deep-strike drones with a 1,600-kilometer (994-mile) range.
The defense tech start-up’s product line also includes the FP-1 deep-strike drone, FP-2 middle-strike drone, and freshly minted FP-7 and FP-9 ballistic missiles.
Currently, Fire Point operates 67 production sites, 66 of which are located in Ukraine. The company is also involved in the construction of a missile engine manufacturing plant in Denmark.