SPFU plans to privatize 100% of Ocean Plaza: starting price could reach $100 million

The State Property Fund of Ukraine is considering the possibility of putting up for privatization auction not only the state stake in the Ocean Plaza shopping mall, but the entire shopping and entertainment center. The potential starting price of 100% of the complex’s shares is estimated at approximately $100 million.

Investors are interested in purchasing the entire facility

According to the head of the State Property Fund, the fund is currently working on a legal mechanism that will allow putting up for auction 100% of Ocean Plaza shares, and not just the state stake of 66%.

As Natalukha explained, potential investors are showing interest in purchasing the entire shopping and entertainment center, so selling a full package of shares can make the facility more attractive to the market.

The Cabinet of Ministers has opened up the possibility of a new sales mechanism

Previously, it was legally impossible to implement such a scenario. However, after the Cabinet of Ministers made amendments to the resolution on the formation of pools of sanctioned property, the State Property Fund was able to work on a new sales structure.

It is assumed that the single pool may include:

shares of LLC “Investment Union “Lybid””, on whose balance sheet Ocean Plaza is located;
right of claim under the loan;
land plot.

At the same time, the main legal problem remains the mechanism for combining the state share (66%) and the private package (34%) in one auction.

What is known about the minority owner

According to media reports, the private package of Ocean Plaza shares is owned by LLC “Lanita Invest” or related structures of businessman Andriy Ivanov, who controls the UDP group.

According to Dmytro Natalukha, the State Property Fund currently sees a constructive position of the minority co-owner and does not rule out that he will also join the sales process.

When may the auction take place

The State Property Fund estimates the potential starting price of 100% of Ocean Plaza at approximately $100 million.

Due to the need to resolve legal issues, the privatization auction may not take place before December 2026, while the receipt of funds to the state budget is expected in January 2027.

What about the Ocean Plaza case

Dmytro Natalukha also commented on the searches that the Prosecutor General’s Office conducted in June at the State Property Fund within the framework of the Ocean Plaza case.

According to him, the Fund provided law enforcement officers with all the necessary information regarding the mechanism for forming the value of the asset, the procedure for determining the price and conducting the auction.

The head of the SPFU emphasized that no suspicions were announced to the Fund’s officials in this case, and interaction with law enforcement agencies is taking place in a constructive format.