State Property Fund sells second distillery of Ukrspyrt

Ukraine's State Property Fund (SPF) says it has sold the second facility of the country's state-run alcohol giant, Ukrspyrt, namely the Artemivsky distillery, to a private investor for UAH 50 million (US$1.8 million).

Read alsoState Property Fund puts Ukrspyrt's third distillery up for sale"The auction has completed," the SPF's press service wrote on Facebook on October 20.

"Two companies wanted to become the owners of the Artemivsky distillery at once. The starting price of the facility increased 1.7 times, from UAH 29.7 million [US$1 million] to UAH 50 million [US$1.8 million]," the press service added.

Background

• On December 3, 2019, the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, passed a bill to liberalize alcohol production and abolish a government monopoly in the alcohol industry.
• State-owned Ukrspyrt, which was set up on the basis of a consortium with the same name in 2010, holds a monopoly on alcohol production in Ukraine. The government has already launched its privatization, which is expected to be completed by July 1, 2021. Over 40 distilleries that are part of the enterprise are to be put up for sale.
• In September 2020, the State Property Fund launched the privatization campaign in the alcohol industry.
• The SPF put up for sale the Nemyriv distillery (Vinnytsia region) on September 15 and the Artemivsky distillery (Kharkiv region) on September 17. The auctions were to take place in the second half of October 2020.
• On October 15, the Nemyriv distillery was sold for UAH 55 million (US$1.9 million).