Ukrainian business continues expanding its beyond its borders as billionaire Kostyantin Zhevago is reportedly close to purchasing a Bulgarian steel mill
In the latest round of Ukrainian business expanding its influence beyond home turf, 34-year-old billionaire Kostyantin Zhevago is reportedly close to purchasing a Bulgarian steel mill through a deal valued by analysts at between $600 and $700 million.
Alexander Tomov, executive director of the Kremikovtzi mill, said in a Jan. 25 interview on Bulgaria’s national television that negotiations to sell 71 percent of the Kremikovtzi plant to Zhevago should be complete within several days.
Maxim Prasolov, Zhevago’s press secretary, declined to comment on the negotiations. But Rumen Zankov, press secretary of the mill, told the Post that “negotiations with Kostyantin Zhevago started about a month ago and are currently in the process of completion.”
The current owner of the mill’s 71 percent share is Global Steel Holding, controlled by Pramod and Vinod Mittal, the younger brothers of global steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal. The firm purchased the mill in 2005 for an estimated $147 million.
Yuriy Ryzhkov, an analyst at Kyiv-based Millennium Capital investment bank, estimated that Zhevago could pay between $600 and $700 million for the plant.
Metinvest holding, the steel and ore-mining empire of Ukraine’s richest billionaire Rinat Akhmetov, reportedly also eyed the Bulgarian plant, but sources said the group has not made a bid.
Kremikovtzi, the biggest steel mill in Bulgaria, with a production capacity of 1.5 million tons, could be a smart acquisition for Zhevago, Ryzhkov said. It would give the businessman his first steel producer and jump-start efforts to setup a vertically integrated steel group.
Last year, Zhevago raised $450 million by floating a stake in Swiss-registered Ferrexpo on the London Stock Exchange. Through Ferrexpo, Zhevago controls a leading Ukrainian ore supplier, Poltava Ore.
Zhevago owns no major steel factories as of yet, though reports allege he recently bought a small factory in Macedonia. He recently revealed plans to build brand new mills in Ukraine and Hungary.
Zhevago, a lawmaker in Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko’s political bloc, controls one of Ukraine’s largest diversified business holdings. Along with associates, his business group controls Ukraine’s Finance & Credit Bank, heavy truck manufacturer KrAZ, and Rosava, Ukraine’s largest tire manufacturer.
