Ocean Plaza Valued at $100 Million: Natalukha Reveals Details of the Shopping Center’s Sale
27 July 19:19
The State Property Fund of Ukraine (SPFU) is considering the possibility of putting 100% of the shares in the Ocean Plaza shopping and entertainment center up for privatization auction, instead of the current 66% state stake. The potential starting price for the entire shopping and entertainment center is estimated at approximately $100 million.
Dmytro Natalukha, head of the SPFU, spoke about this in an interview with RBC-Ukraine, according to "Komersant Ukrainian".
According to Dmytro Natalukha, until recently it was legally impossible to create a pool for the sale of Ocean Plaza. However, the Cabinet of Ministers approved amendments to the resolution that defines how pools are formed for the sale of sanctioned assets.
“In principle, we have all the legal tools to form the pool that will be put up for sale. This includes not only the shares of LLC “Investment Union ‘Lybid’”—which owns the Ocean Plaza shopping center—but also the right to claim a loan, a land plot, and so on. Until last Wednesday, it was legally impossible to create such a pool. But a week ago, the Cabinet of Ministers approved amendments to the resolution that defines how pools are formed for the sale of sanctioned assets,” Natalukha said.
This paved the way for the formation of a pool comprising the shares of LLC “Investment Union ‘Lybid’”—which holds the shopping center on its balance sheet—along with the right to claim a loan and a land plot. The main challenge lies in the fact that the state lacks a direct mechanism to put both the state’s stake (66%) and the private stake (34%) up for auction in a single pool at the same time.
What is the minority owner’s position?
Discussions are currently underway to determine whether a structure can be devised that would allow for the sale of 100% of the shopping center, rather than the current 66%. According to the fund’s chairman, market demand is specifically for the entire property.
“Unfortunately, we do not have the ability to put both the state’s stake and the private stake up for sale in a single lot. Therefore, discussions are currently underway on whether it is possible to find a structure that would allow us to put 100% of the shopping center up for sale, rather than the current 66%. Because there is demand for 100%,” said Natalukha.
According to media reports, the private stake in Ocean Plaza is owned by Lanita Invest LLC or entities affiliated with Andriy Ivanov, who controls UDP. Dmytro Natalukha says that the fund currently sees sufficient goodwill on the part of Ocean Plaza’s co-owner and does not rule out that the minority shareholder will also participate in the auction.
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Valuation and Expected Timeline
According to estimates by the State Property Fund of Ukraine (SPFU) and signals from market participants, potential buyers are prepared to start bidding at approximately $100 million for 100% of the shopping center.
“Based on our estimates and signals from market participants, potential buyers are ready to start bidding at approximately $100 million for 100% of the shopping center. This is also evident from this year’s discussion surrounding the possible sale of the Dream Town shopping center in Obolon. It is being offered for roughly the same price despite having slightly lower specifications,” Natalukha said.
The head of the State Property Fund of Ukraine explains that, due to legal complications, it will realistically be possible to hold the auction no earlier than December 2026. And the proceeds from the sale will be transferred to the budget as early as January 2027.
“I’m concerned that, due to all these legal complications, we’ll only be able to hold the auction in December 2026—and the proceeds from the sale will be received as early as January 2027. In other words, if the asset is sold, that revenue will be included in next year’s budget,” said the head of the State Property Fund of Ukraine.
Searches at the State Property Fund
Dmytro Natalukha also commented on the June searches conducted by the Office of the Prosecutor General at the State Property Fund of Ukraine in connection with the Ocean Plaza case. According to him, the situation concluded with a dialogue: no charges were brought against the fund’s officials. The fund provided law enforcement with all the information on how the asset’s price is determined, who sets it, and how the auction winner is selected.
“Our task is to ensure that such incidents do not occur in the future, because otherwise the privatization process will lose public trust. Potential participants will be afraid to bid on an asset, knowing that at any moment law enforcement officials will arrive and start, to put it mildly, asking questions,” Natalukha stated.
How Ocean Plaza Is Linked to Russians
The Russian company “TPS Nedvizhimost” purchased Ocean Plaza in 2012 from the project’s developers—companies owned by Vasyl Khmelnytskyi and Andrii Ivanov. One of the owners of the Russian company is Lilia Rotenberg, the daughter of Arkady Rotenberg, a Russian oligarch close to Vladimir Putin. Activists staged protests outside Ocean Plaza to draw the authorities’ attention to the shopping center’s Russian owners. After the annexation of Crimea, the Russians sold half of the shopping center to its previous owners, while two Swiss citizens took ownership of the other half. In 2019, Rotenberg’s daughter Lilia withdrew from the list of beneficiaries of the company “Investment Union Lybid,” which owns Ocean Plaza.
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