On June 20 one of the biggest Ukrainian media firms UMH Group announced it was being sold to 27-year-old Kharkiv businessman Serhiy Kurchenko. UMH’s assets include Focus, Vogue, Korrespondent, and Forbes Ukraine. But some journalists are not happy with the change of ownership and believe the new investor could restrict their freedom.
In
a written interview with Forbes, Kurchenko told he sees good prospects for UMH
Group, especially its internet segment. According to him, all negotiations
lasted less than a month. The price is unknown, but Kurchenko mentioned half of
the funds would come from him, and half from bank loans.
The
young businessman also promises that editorial policy will not change.
“Editorial policy is the responsibility of the team and it is under the control
of the main Forbes office in the U.S.,” Kurchenko said. “Investigations are a
part of the business; we will not prevent its development.”
Borys
Lozhkin, UMH Group’s current CEO, says he also had an offer from a “big Russian
group”, but Kurchenko’s proposal was more suitable for him “by the ratio of the
money and time.” The deal was checked by British lawyers to make sure no
dirty money was involved, he believes.
According
to Lozhkin, the buyer also said he is ready to sign editorial agreements with the
holding’s media outlets. “UMH is my life’s work,” emphasized Lozhkin, adding
that the new owner would open new opportunities for the holding. Later Kurchenko
plans to meet with editorial members, though the dates have not yet been set,
Lozhkin noted. “I hope, once the feature about this person (Kurchenko) will be
published at Forbes, and there will be something positive to write about him,”
he said.
According
to the contract, Lozhkin can’t establish any similar outlet to those in UMH
during an undisclosed period of time. However, now he is more interested in
online project, possibly e-commerce, he said.
Ironically, Forbes Ukraine was one of the
first media that wrote about Kurchenko. The mysterious businessman from Kharkiv
was almost unknown to the public until late 2012, when he bought Metalist
Kharkiv, a leading Ukrainian soccer club. The previous owner, oligarch
Oleksandr Yaroslavsky later
said he was pressured to find a new investor for the club. Speaking at a press
conference in Kyiv on June 21, Lozhkin denied being pressured to sell the
publishing house.
In
March Kurchenko also bought the Odessa refinery from Russian oil producer
Lukoil.
Kurchenko’s
Gaz Ukraina group of companies, renamed this year as the East European Fuel and
Energy Company (VETEK), claims an annual turnover of $10 billion and
specializes in the sale of fuel, notably liquefied and natural gas. VETEK
controls a network of 150 gas stations and plans to expand to 250 by
2014.
However,
respected weekly Dzerkalo Tyzhnya wrote that Gaz Ukraina was involved in oil
smuggling, depriving state coffers of Hr 3 billion in uncollected tax revenue.
Forbes Ukraine also linked Kurchenko to Artem Pshonka, a young lawmaker and the
son of Prosecutor General Viktor Pshonka. They both denied this.
Kyiv Post staff writer Kateryna Kapliuk can be reached at [email protected].
