The bank auction for Gulliver, a large shopping mall and office complex in central Kyiv, did not proceed as scheduled on Oct. 16 because the 10 interested buyers did not meet requirements set by the sellers.
As reported on Oct. 1, Gulliver was being put up for auction by its state-run creditor banks, Oschadbank and Ukreximbank for at least $643 million.
The high asking price, that included the debt on a loan from the state-owned banks, raised eyebrows in Kyiv and some bankers said it was too high of an asking price for the 35-story complex, the tallest shopping mall in Ukraine.
Ukrainian-language outlet 1NEWS reports that 10 buyers were interested in bidding for Gulliver but none met the official buyer criteria defined by the SETAM OpenMarket auction system, operated by the Ukrainian Ministry of Justice.
The reason for prospective Gulliver buyers being rejected on the SETAM auction system is not immediately clear.
As of Oct. 17 the property appears to no longer be listed on the auction platform.
A number of companies, some of them off-shore, currently have an equity stake in the indebted Gulliver complex.
According to open company data, Gulliver is 40.6 percent owned by Ukrainian company Mobile West, 22 percent by Podemos in London, 10 percent by Hetiber Finance in Cyprus and 27.2 percent is owned by two companies in the British Virgin Islands, Budleigh Coast and Lavish Ventures.
