The Privat Group, or PrivatBank Group ( uk, Група «Приват»,
romanized
Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics, is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and ...
: ''Hrupa "Pryvat"'') is a
global business group, based in
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
. Privat Group controls thousands of companies of virtually every industry in Ukraine, the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
,
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
,
Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
,
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
, the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
and other countries.
Steel
Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...
,
oil
An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...
&
gas
Gas is one of the four fundamental states of matter (the others being solid, liquid, and plasma).
A pure gas may be made up of individual atoms (e.g. a noble gas like neon), elemental molecules made from one type of atom (e.g. oxygen), or ...
,
chemical
A chemical substance is a form of matter having constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Some references add that chemical substance cannot be separated into its constituent elements by physical separation methods, i.e., wi ...
and
energy
In physics, energy (from Ancient Greek: ἐνέργεια, ''enérgeia'', “activity”) is the quantitative property that is transferred to a body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of work and in the form of heat a ...
are sectors of the group's prime influence and expertise. None of the group's capital is publicly traded on any
stock exchange
A stock exchange, securities exchange, or bourse is an exchange where stockbrokers and traders can buy and sell securities, such as shares of stock, bonds and other financial instruments. Stock exchanges may also provide facilities for th ...
.
The business group was grouped around
PrivatBank. On 18 December 2016 this bank was nationalized by the government of Ukraine, taking 100% ownership.
[
The group is controlled by the ]billionaire
A billionaire is a person with a net worth of at least one billion (1,000,000,000, i.e., a thousand million) units of a given currency, usually of a major currency such as the United States dollar, euro, or pound sterling. The American busin ...
businessmen Hennadiy Boholyubov, Oleksiy Martynov Oleksii, Oleksiy or OleksiĭALA-LC romanization of Ukrainian. ( uk, Олексі́й, Oleksij ) is a Ukrainian male name of Ancient Greek origin.
Some people with the given name Oleksiy
* Oleksiy Antonov (born 1986), Ukrainian football forward
* ...
, and Ihor Kolomoyskyi
Ihor Valeriyovych Kolomoyskyi ( uk, Ігор Валерійович Коломойський, translit=Ihor Valereriyovych Kolomoyskyi; he, איגור קולומויסקי; born 13 February 1963) is a Ukrainian-born billionaire, business magn ...
(the latter is the richest and leading partner that is best known to the public).[
As a business-oligarch entity, Privat Group controls some prominent Ukrainian media, maintains close relations with politicians, and sponsors professional ]sports
Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...
.
Key businesses of the group (including the PrivatBank itself) are based in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast
Dnipropetrovsk Oblast ( uk, Дніпропетро́вська о́бласть, translit=Dnipropetrovska oblast), also referred to as Dnipropetrovshchyna ( uk, Дніпропетро́вщина), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, obla ...
. The group's founding owners, natives of Dnipro
Dnipro, previously called Dnipropetrovsk from 1926 until May 2016, is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnieper Rive ...
, made their entire careers there.
History
In 1990, the graduates of the Dnipropetrovsk universities, Gennadiy Bogolyubov
Gennadiy (Zvi Hirsch) Bogolyubov (born 1961/1962) is a Ukrainian billionaire businessman based in the United Kingdom. He controls Privat Group, along with Ihor Kolomoyskyi and Oleksiy Martynov.
Early life
Gennadiy Bogolyubov is a native of Dnipro ...
, Ihor Kolomoyskyi
Ihor Valeriyovych Kolomoyskyi ( uk, Ігор Валерійович Коломойський, translit=Ihor Valereriyovych Kolomoyskyi; he, איגור קולומויסקי; born 13 February 1963) is a Ukrainian-born billionaire, business magn ...
and Oleksiy Martynov, created the first joint business: Bogolyubov and Kolomoisky bought the office equipment in Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
, and Martynov was engaged in its marketing in Dnipro
Dnipro, previously called Dnipropetrovsk from 1926 until May 2016, is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnieper Rive ...
. After the collapse of the USSR, friends returned to Dnepropetrovsk and began to import various goods - from sneakers and sportswear to telephones. At this stage, they had a fourth partner, the son of a major Soviet entrepreneur, Leonid Miloslavsky. Each of the partners owned 25% in the total business.
To pay for imported goods, the partners set up the export of steel products, Kolomoisky was in charge of this. Soon they realized that it was more profitable to trade the metal, and then they started to import oil products and began to buy the premises for their storage and transportation. They also took up the ferroalloy
Ferroalloy refers to various alloys of iron with a high proportion of one or more other elements such as manganese (Mn), aluminium (Al), or silicon (Si). They are used in the production of steels and alloys. The alloys impart distinctive qualitie ...
direction: the group supplied fuel to the Pokrovsky (Ordzhonikidzevsky) GOK, receiving in return manganese ore and sending it for export; Martynov was responsible for this direction.
In 1992, Serhiy Tihipko
Serhiy Leonidovych Tihipko ( uk, Сергій Леонідович Тiгiпко; born 13 February 1960) is a Ukrainian politician and finance specialist who was Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine. Tihipko was Minister of Economics in 2000 and subse ...
, the former head of the Dnepropetrovsk Komsomol Party, suggested to Miloslavsky to set up a bank. Kolomoisky initially opposed this idea, but eventually agreed In March 1992, four companies — Vist LLC, Sentosa LLC, Som LLC, and Privat-Intertreyding CJSC — established Privatbank CJSC. Tigipko became chairman of the board, and Miloslavsky headed the supervisory board. Unlike state-owned banks, Privat willingly served private entrepreneurs. 1995 became the crucial year for the Privatbank Group business when the bank have joined voucher privatization.
Having accumulated 1.2 million certificates (2.3% of their total number), the bank began to purchase the shares of the metallurgical enterprises. The first company whose shares Privat received in exchange for certificates was the Dnepropetrovsk hardware plant. With the help of vouchers, Privat entered the capital and established operational control over the Nikopol Ferroalloy Plant
Nikopol Ferroalloy Plant is a producer of Manganese Ferroalloy and related material located in Ukraine.
Background
The plant is one of the largest global producers of manganese alloys, and is situated in the Dnepropetrovsk region of Ukraine, clos ...
, Pokrovsky (Ordzhonikidze) and Marganets GOKs.
Gennady Bogolyubov later admitted that Privat had to negotiate with the governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region Pavlo Lazarenko
Pavlo Ivanovych Lazarenko ( uk, Павло Іванович Лазаренко; born 23 January 1953) is a Ukrainian former politician, convicted criminal, and international fugitive who served as Prime Minister of Ukraine from 1996 to 1997.
Bo ...
. So, in 1996, to the Lazarenko’s driver, Leonid Gadyatsky, were rewritten 16.7% of the Privat key company - Sentosa Ltd, 14% of the Solm company, which owned the third part of the Privatbank, and at minimum 1% of the Privat intertrading".
In 1997, Lazarenko, who had already become the prime minister, was dismissed, and Miloslavsky died of a heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...
while on holiday in Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
. The share of Miloslavsky was inherited by his daughter Marianna, who was just finishing the school.
In 1999–2003, Privat's structure bought about 40% of Ukrnafta
Ukrnafta is a Ukrainian petroleum, oil and natural gas extracting company, the largest producer of oil and gas in the country. Ukrnafta is also an operator of a gas filling station network in Ukraine nationwide.
In 2006, the company conducted some ...
shares on the open market, the controlling stake remained with the government. Thanks to Kolomoisky’s acquaintance with the brothers Hryhoriy and Ihor Surkis
Ihor Mikhaylovich Surkis ( uk, Ігор Михайлович Суркіс; born 22 November 1958) is a Ukrainian oligarch best known for being an owner and President of Dynamo Kyiv since 2002. His brother, Hryhoriy Surkis, was the head of the Fo ...
and Viktor Medvedchuk
Viktor Volodymyrovych Medvedchuk ( uk, Віктор Володимирович Медведчук, ; born 7 August 1954) is a Ukrainian lawyer, business oligarch, and politician who is since September 2022 living in exile after being handed over ...
, the company’s chairman was dismissed and replaced by Kolomoisky’s appointee.
In 2000, with the help of Hennadiy Korban
Hennadiy Olehovych Korban ( uk, Геннадій Олегович Корбан; born May 24, 1970) is a Ukrainian businessman and politician. A patron of the Jewish community in Dnipro, he served as the head of the UKROP party from July 12, 201 ...
, Privat was able to establish control over the Kalinin coke-chemical plant, the owner of which did not cooperate with the group. Korban, whose company kept the register of shareholders of the coke, through the courts canceled the transaction, which allowed his owner to collect a controlling stake.
In the late 1990s, Igor Kolomoisky
Ihor Valeriyovych Kolomoyskyi ( uk, Ігор Валерійович Коломойський, translit=Ihor Valereriyovych Kolomoyskyi; he, איגור קולומויסקי; born 13 February 1963) is a Ukrainian-born billionaire, business magnat ...
and Victor Pinchuk
Victor Mykhailovych Pinchuk ( uk, Віктор Михайлович Пінчук, ''Viktor Mykhailovych Pinchuk''; born 14 December 1960) is a Ukrainian businessman and oligarch. As of January 2016, ''Forbes'' ranked him as 1,250th on the list o ...
, who owned large stakes in the NZF, Pokrovsky (Ordzhonikidze) GOK and MGOK, agreed to work together in the ferroalloy market, but soon they quarreled. In 2003, Pinchuk acquired a controlling stake in the NFP during the auction, to which no one else was allowed. After the change of power, in 2006, Pinchuk ceded control over the NFP and received in return 25% in the Privat ferroalloy business.
At the end of 2007, Kolomoisky sold to Evraz
EVRAZ plc (russian: Евраз) is a UK-incorporated multinational steel manufacturing and mining company part-owned by Russian oligarchs. It has operations mainly in Russia as well as the USA, Canada, and Kazakhstan. As of 2015, the ultimate be ...
the controlling stakes of the six metallurgical enterprises. Privat received $1 billion and 9.72% of Evraz shares. However, two years later, Bogolyubov was removed from the board of directors of Evraz.
Assets
Metallurgy
Privat-Intertreyding is controlling the Pokrovsky, Marganetsky, Yuzhny (together with the Russian Smart Group) mining and processing plants. In metallurgy, is controlling the Dnepropetrovsk Metallurgical Plant of Comintern, Dnepropetrovsk Metallurgical Plant of Petrovsky, Nikopol Ferroalloy Plant
Nikopol Ferroalloy Plant is a producer of Manganese Ferroalloy and related material located in Ukraine.
Background
The plant is one of the largest global producers of manganese alloys, and is situated in the Dnepropetrovsk region of Ukraine, clos ...
, Stakhanov Ferroalloy Plant, Zaporozhye Ferroalloy Plant and Russian Alapaevsk Metallurgical Plant.
At the end of 2007, Privat completed the sale of its metallurgical assets to the Russian Evraz
EVRAZ plc (russian: Евраз) is a UK-incorporated multinational steel manufacturing and mining company part-owned by Russian oligarchs. It has operations mainly in Russia as well as the USA, Canada, and Kazakhstan. As of 2015, the ultimate be ...
group: the Sukhaya Balka mining and processing plant, the Dnepropetrovsk Metallurgical Plant of Petrovsky and three coke chemicals (Dneprodzerzhinsky Coke and Chemical Plant, Baglecox, Dneprokoks).
Fuel industry
Kolomoisky is a major shareholder of Ukrnafta
Ukrnafta is a Ukrainian petroleum, oil and natural gas extracting company, the largest producer of oil and gas in the country. Ukrnafta is also an operator of a gas filling station network in Ukraine nationwide.
In 2006, the company conducted some ...
(42% of shares in 2008). At the end of December 2007, Privat acquired 12.62% of the shares of the British oil and gas company JKX Oil & Gas, about 80% of oil and gas assets are located in Ukraine.
Structure
The businesses of Privat Group are not formally included in a corporation
A corporation is an organization—usually a group of people or a company—authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law "born out of statute"; a legal person in legal context) and r ...
, and its top managers sometimes state that there is no such group at all.["The Privat group considers itself non-existing at all. The ghost register for the semi-gost group is a normal situation]
in Russian
in Ukrainian
However, either PrivatBank or "''Privat''-Intertrading" company indirectly own all companies regarded as parts of the group. Typically, industrial companies are controlled through a complicated chain of offshore companies
The term "offshore company" or “offshore corporation” is used in at least two distinct and different ways. An offshore company may be a reference to:
* a company, group or sometimes a division thereof, which engages in offshoring business pro ...
. Despite this, the Ukrainian public has a clear understanding of what exactly belongs to the group. To describe such relations, the media use the wording “company X is controlled by the Privat Group" or "the business of the X company is being organized by the PrivatBank". The group never denies such statements.
Steel industry
Various steel companies form the core of the Privat Group, presenting a full manufacturing chain of metallurgy
Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys.
Metallurgy encompasses both the sc ...
. This oldest and most important part of the group is mostly located in and around Dnipro
Dnipro, previously called Dnipropetrovsk from 1926 until May 2016, is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnieper Rive ...
(''location specified in parenthesises below'').
Ore mining and processing companies
*Marhanets Mining&Processing Kombinat and Ordzhonikidze Mining&Processing Kombinat extract and enrich ferroalloy
Ferroalloy refers to various alloys of iron with a high proportion of one or more other elements such as manganese (Mn), aluminium (Al), or silicon (Si). They are used in the production of steels and alloys. The alloys impart distinctive qualitie ...
ore
Ore is natural rock or sediment that contains one or more valuable minerals, typically containing metals, that can be mined, treated and sold at a profit.Encyclopædia Britannica. "Ore". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 7 April 2 ...
s, controlling the domestic market of this raw material (cities of Marhanets
Marhanets ( uk, Марганець, ; russian: Марганец, ; ) is a city in Nikopol Raion of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast that was established in 1938 in southern Ukraine. It was established in place of the village of Horodyshche, which contained ...
and Pokrov, respectively)
*“Suha Balka” JSC extracts iron ore
Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the fo ...
(Kryvyi Rih
Kryvyi Rih ( uk, Криви́й Ріг , lit. "Curved Bend" or "Crooked Horn"), also known as Krivoy Rog (Russian: Кривой Рог) is the largest city in central Ukraine, the 7th most populous city in Ukraine and the 2nd largest by area. Kr ...
)
*Pivdennyi Mining&Processing Kombinat (co-owned with Vadim Novinskyi) extracts and enriches iron ore (also in Kryvyi Rih)
Ferroalloy mills
Apart from its ferroalloy-ore assets, Privat Group has stakes in all three of Ukraine's ferroalloy mills and controls two of them.
*''formerly'' Nikopol Ferroalloys Plant, the world's second ferroalloy manufacturer (co-owned and fiercely fought over with the Interpipe Group
Interpipe Group, or simply Interpipe, is a Ukrainian industrial company, a global producer of steel pipes and railway wheels. Interpipe headquarters and production facilities are located in Nikopol, Ukraine. The network of sales offices covers th ...
) ( Nikopol), the privatisation was declared illegal in 2006.
*Stakhanov Ferroalloy Plant
Stakhanov Ferroalloy Plant () is the largest (about 50% of all-Ukrainian production) plant for the production of ferrosilicon in Ukraine. The plant is located in the city of Kadiivka (formerly Stakhanov), Luhansk Oblast, Ukraine. It is located on ...
(Stakhanov Stakhanov may refer to:
* Stakhanov (surname), a Russian surname
* Stakhanov, Ukraine, a city in Ukraine
* Stakhanov coal mine, Ukraine
* Stakhanov Railway Car Building Works, Ukraine
See also
* Stakhanovite movement, diligent and enthusiastic ...
, Luhansk Oblast
Luhansk Oblast ( uk, Луга́нська о́бласть, translit=Luhanska oblast; russian: Луганская область, translit=Luganskaya oblast; also referred to as Luhanshchyna, uk, Луга́нщина) is the easternmost oblast ...
of Ukraine)
*Zaporizhzhia Ferroalloy Plant
Zaporizhzhia Ferroalloy Plant (OJSC) produces ferrosilicon (47.7% of the Ukrainian market), carbon ferromanganese, and metallic manganese (100% of the Ukrainian market) which are used in the metallurgical industry for alloying of steel, alloys, and ...
(Zaporizhzhia
Zaporizhzhia ( uk, Запоріжжя) or Zaporozhye (russian: Запорожье) is a city in southeast Ukraine, situated on the banks of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. It is the Capital city, administrative centre of Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Zapor ...
)
*Alapayevsk Metallurgy Plant (Alapayevsk
Alapayevsk (russian: Алапа́евск) is a town in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Neyva and Alapaikha rivers. Population: 44,263 ( 2002 census); 50,060 ( 1989 census); 49,000 (1968).
History
Alapayevsk is on ...
, Russia)
*Ferroalloys company in Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
(mentioned by the group co-owner but undisclosed as yet)
*Highlanders Alloys LLC (New Haven
New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...
, United States)
Steel mills
*Dnipropetrovsk Metallurgy Kombinat named after Petrovskyi (Dnipro)
Oil industry
According to the media, Privat Group owns significant shares in Ukrnafta
Ukrnafta is a Ukrainian petroleum, oil and natural gas extracting company, the largest producer of oil and gas in the country. Ukrnafta is also an operator of a gas filling station network in Ukraine nationwide.
In 2006, the company conducted some ...
and Halychyna oil refinery, controlling their business. Ukrnafta is the half-state-owned national oil company, dealing with extraction of petroleum
Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crud ...
and gas condensate
Natural-gas condensate, also called natural gas liquids, is a low-density mixture of hydrocarbon liquids that are present as gaseous components in the raw natural gas produced from many natural gas fields. Some gas species within the raw natur ...
, as well as retailing gasoline
Gasoline (; ) or petrol (; ) (see ) is a transparent, petroleum-derived flammable liquid that is used primarily as a fuel in most spark-ignited internal combustion engines (also known as petrol engines). It consists mostly of organic co ...
through its large gas station
A filling station, also known as a gas station () or petrol station (), is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold in the 2010s were gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel.
Gasoline ...
network. Halychyna owns and operates Ukraine's oldest oil refinery
An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial process plant where petroleum (crude oil) is transformed and refined into useful products such as gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel, asphalt base, fuel oils, heating oil, kerosene, lique ...
in Drohobych
Drohobych ( uk, Дрого́бич, ; pl, Drohobycz; yi, דראָהאָביטש;) is a city of regional significance in Lviv Oblast, Ukraine. It is the administrative center of Drohobych Raion and hosts the administration of Drohobych urban hro ...
, Lviv Oblast
Lviv Oblast ( uk, Льві́вська о́бласть, translit=Lvivska oblast, ), also referred to as Lvivshchyna ( uk, Льві́вщина, ), ). The name of each oblast is a wikt:Appendix:Glossary#relational, relational adjective—in Englis ...
.
The group also recently acquired control over Chornomorsk Fuel Terminal Company, operating the oil & petrol terminal in the Black Sea port of Chornomorsk
Chornomorsk ( uk, Чорномо́рськ, ), formerly Illichivsk (, translit. ''Illichivs'k''), is a city in Odesa Raion, Odesa Oblast (province) of south-western Ukraine, dependent on the Port of Chornomorsk. The city is located around the S ...
.
Chemical industry
The group owns Kamianske based chemical plant "DniproAzot
DniproAzot located in Kamianske, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast is an enterprise in the chemical industry of Ukraine. DniproAzot is a significant producer of ammonia, nitrogen fertilizers, urea, caustic soda, chlorine, and hydrochloric acid
Hydrochl ...
" with 1000000 tons per year of ammonia capacity and 750000 tons per year of urea capacity.
Food industry
Privat Group owns the Dnipro-based “ Biola” soft drinks
A soft drink (see § Terminology for other names) is a drink that usually contains water (often carbonated), a sweetener, and a natural and/or artificial flavoring. The sweetener may be a sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, fruit juice, a s ...
company.
The group may also control sugar beet
A sugar beet is a plant whose root contains a high concentration of sucrose and which is grown commercially for sugar production. In plant breeding, it is known as the Altissima cultivar group of the common beet (''Beta vulgaris''). Together wi ...
processing plants throughout Ukraine.
Energy industry
In 2005, Privat Group bought controlling shares in five companies that fully control electricity distribution in Ivano-Frankivsk
Ivano-Frankivsk ( uk, Іва́но-Франкі́вськ, translit=Iváno-Frankívśk ), formerly Stanyslaviv ( pl, Stanisławów ; german: Stanislau), is a city located in Western Ukraine. It is the administrative centre of Ivano-Frankivsk O ...
, Poltava
Poltava (, ; uk, Полтава ) is a city located on the Vorskla River in central Ukraine. It is the capital city of the Poltava Oblast (province) and of the surrounding Poltava Raion (district) of the oblast. Poltava is administratively ...
, Sumy
Sumy ( uk, Суми ) is a city of regional significance in Ukraine, and the capital of Sumy Oblast. The city is situated on the banks of the Psel River in northeastern Ukraine with a population of according to the 2021 census, making it the 2 ...
, Chernihiv
Chernihiv ( uk, Черні́гів, , russian: Черни́гов, ; pl, Czernihów, ; la, Czernihovia), is a city and municipality in northern Ukraine, which serves as the administrative center of Chernihiv Oblast and Chernihiv Raion within ...
and Lviv Oblast
Lviv Oblast ( uk, Льві́вська о́бласть, translit=Lvivska oblast, ), also referred to as Lvivshchyna ( uk, Льві́вщина, ), ). The name of each oblast is a wikt:Appendix:Glossary#relational, relational adjective—in Englis ...
s. The names of these companies are the name of the respective oblast with the ''-oblenergo'' ending, e.g. “Poltavaoblenergo”.
Banking
Privatbank, was the core of the group, as the largest commercial bank
A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets.
Because ...
in Ukraine. On 18 December 2016, the bank was nationalized by the government of Ukraine, taking 100% ownership.[Ukrainian government nationalizes PrivatBank]
- KyivPost
The ''Kyiv Post'' is the oldest English-language newspaper in Ukraine, founded in October 1995 by Jed Sunden.
History
American Jed Sunden founded the ''Kyiv Post'' weekly newspaper on Oct. 18, 1995 and later created KP Media for his holdings. ...
Ukraine's biggest lender PrivatBank nationalised
BBC News
BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...
(19 December 2015)
Media
Privat Group officially controls the ''Privat-TV'' regional television channel
A television channel is a terrestrial frequency or virtual number over which a television station or television network is distributed. For example, in North America, "channel 2" refers to the terrestrial or cable band of 54 to 60 MHz, with ...
in Dnipro
Dnipro, previously called Dnipropetrovsk from 1926 until May 2016, is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnieper Rive ...
. Ihor Kolomoyskyi, one of the group's co-owners, brought a court suit demanding the right to purchase a controlling stake in '' Channel 1+1'', a popular nationwide TV company.[ According to media, Privat Group also controls the ]UNIAN
The UNIAN or Ukrainian Independent Information Agency of News ( uk, Українське Незалежне Інформаційне Агентство Новин, УНІАН, translit=Ukrayins'ke Nezalezhne Informatsiyne Ahentstvo Novyn) is a ...
news agency.[Colossi With Feet of Clay]
The Ukrainian Week
''The Ukrainian Week'' ( uk, Український Тиждень, translit=Ukrainskyi Tyzhden) is an illustrated weekly magazine covering politics, economics and the arts and aimed at the socially engaged Ukrainian-language reader. It provides ...
(22 February 2013)
Sports
Privat Group indirectly owns FC Dnipro
Football Club Dnipro ( uk, Футбо́льний Клуб «Дніпро́», ) was a Ukrainian football club based in Dnipro. The club was owned by the Privat Group that also owns BC Dnipro and Budivelnyk Kyiv.
In 2018 FC Dnipro was forced in ...
professional football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
club as well as the HC Budivelnyk
HC Budivelnyk ( ua, ХК Будівельник; en, Builder Hockey Club) was a potential professional ice hockey team based in Kyiv, Ukraine. It planned to join the Kontinental Hockey League for the 2010-11 season. However, on June 24, 2010, the ...
hockey and BC Budivelnyk
BC Budivelnyk Kyiv (in Ukrainian language, Ukrainian: Будівельник Київ) is a Ukraine, Ukrainian professional basketball club based in Kyiv. The club plays in the Ukrainian Basketball SuperLeague. In June 2018, it was forced to withdr ...
basketball teams.
Real estate
They own 2/3rd of Optima Ventures, a Miami-based real estate investment firm led by Chaim Schochet
Chaim Schochet (born 1986/87) is an American real estate executive, developer, and manager at Optima Ventures, once the largest holder of real estate in Downtown Cleveland.
Early life
Schochet was born to a Jewish family in Miami Beach, Florida ...
; the remaining 1/3rd is owned by Miami businessman Mordechai "Motti" Korf and Uri Laber. Optima owns more than 5 million square feet of real estate in the United States and is the largest holder of real estate in Downtown Cleveland
Downtown Cleveland is the central business district of Cleveland, Ohio. The economic and symbolic center of the city and the Cleveland-Akron-Canton, OH Combined Statistical Area, it is Cleveland's oldest district, with its Public Square laid out b ...
owning One Cleveland Center
One Cleveland Center is the fifth tallest skyscraper located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, following Erieview Tower. The building has 31 stories, rises to a height of , and is located at 1375 East 9th Street. It has about of office space. It ...
[Blumberg Capital Partners: "Optima International Purchases More Cleveland Property"]
2008] and 55 Public Square; they are previous owners of the Huntington Bank Building
The Centennial, formerly The 925 Building, and Huntington Building, originally the Union Trust Building, is a high-rise office building on Euclid Avenue (Cleveland, Ohio), Euclid Avenue in the Nine-Twelve District of downtown Cleveland, Ohio, USA. ...
; and the Penton Media Building
The AECOM Building, formerly known as the Penton Media Building, and the Bond Court Building, is a commercial high-rise building in Cleveland, Ohio. The building rises 253 feet (77 m) in Downtown Cleveland. It contains 21 floors, and was complet ...
.
Relations and controversies
Privat Group is involved in a permanent and fierce business conflict with Ukrainian oligarch Viktor Pinchuk
Victor Mykhailovych Pinchuk ( uk, Віктор Михайлович Пінчук, ''Viktor Mykhailovych Pinchuk''; born 14 December 1960) is a Ukrainian businessman and oligarch. As of January 2016, ''Forbes'' ranked him as 1,250th on the list o ...
and his Interpipe Group
Interpipe Group, or simply Interpipe, is a Ukrainian industrial company, a global producer of steel pipes and railway wheels. Interpipe headquarters and production facilities are located in Nikopol, Ukraine. The network of sales offices covers th ...
. The groups are based in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, sharing a long and complicated history of relations. Presently, the conflict focuses on the bilaterally owned Nikopol Ferroalloys Plant (Interpipe now controls the plant’s business). Both sides apply full-scale legal, public relations and political methods in the conflict. Ihor Kolomoyskyi (the main owner of Privat Group) and Pinchuk sometimes insult each other in their interviews.
Henadiy Korban, one of Privat Group's top managers, survived serious assassination
Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have ...
attempts in Dnipro in March 2006, and again in September 2010.
Before the Orange Revolution
The Orange Revolution ( uk, Помаранчева революція, translit=Pomarancheva revoliutsiia) was a series of protests and political events that took place in Ukraine from late November 2004 to January 2005, in the immediate afterm ...
, Privat Group had been widely regarded as relatively uninvolved in politics, but loyal to the Leonid Kuchma
Leonid Danylovych Kuchma ( uk, Леоні́д Дани́лович Ку́чма; born 9 August 1938) is a Ukrainian politician who was the second president of Ukraine from 19 July 1994 to 23 January 2005. Kuchma's presidency saw numerous corrup ...
regime. After the government change, the group's owners, according to media, became close allies of Yulia Tymoshenko
Yulia Volodymyrivna Tymoshenko ( uk, Юлія Володимирівна Тимошенко, ; Hrihyan ();[Prime Minister of Ukraine
The prime minister of Ukraine ( uk, Прем'єр-міністр України, ) is the head of government of Ukraine. The prime minister presides over the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, which is the highest body of the executive branch of th ...]
supported Privat side in conflicts.
Some sources state that Privat Group provided significant financial support for Viktor Yuschenko
Viktor Andriyovych Yushchenko ( uk, Віктор Андрійович Ющенко, ; born 23 February 1954) is a Ukrainian politician who was the third president of Ukraine from 23 January 2005 to 25 February 2010.
As an informal leader of th ...
during his presidential campaign
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
and subsequent Orange Revolution
The Orange Revolution ( uk, Помаранчева революція, translit=Pomarancheva revoliutsiia) was a series of protests and political events that took place in Ukraine from late November 2004 to January 2005, in the immediate afterm ...
.
See also
*Economy of Ukraine
The economy of Ukraine is an emerging, mixed economy located in Eastern Europe. It grew rapidly from 2000 until 2008 when the Great Recession began worldwide and reached Ukraine. The economy recovered in 2010 and continued improving until 2013 ...
References
:Inline
:General
*
*
in Russian
in Ukrainian
External links
Official Website of Privatbank (in English)
{{Chemical Industry of Ukraine
Conglomerate companies of Ukraine
Companies based in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast
Holding companies of Ukraine
Economy of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast