Грядет глобальная диверсификация
Експертна думка Мирослава Табахарнюка, 29.10.14
Час купувати
Експертна думка Мирослава Табахарнюка, 23.06.14
Investors have almost stopped acquiring assets in Ukraine
Expert opinion of Myroslav Tabakharnyuk, LB.ua, 26.03.2014
To merge and to acquire
Expert opinion of Myroslav Tabakharnyuk, Ukrainska pravda, 24.12.2013
Association with the EU: will it influence the M&A market
Expert opinion of Myroslav Tabakharnyuk, Ukrainska pravda, 06.11.2013
Dealing with Risks in Cross-Border M&A
Alex Nekrasa is the Director of the M&A unit at Ukrainian M&A advisor MT-Invest.
According to Mr Nekrasa, the main players in the Ukrainian M&A market in recent years have been local industrial and financial groups of companies. He noted that foreign companies have not been actively participating in the process, except for when they sold their Ukrainian assets. He highlighted the banking sector as a very good example of this, as numerous large European banks, such as Swedbank, Commerzbank and SEB Group sold their Ukrainian subsidiaries or significantly reduced their presence in the country.
“Some large Ukrainian companies, however, have been looking and buying assets across the border, and not only in Russia but also in the EU and even the US,” observed Mr Nekrasa. “The situation with lack of interest towards Ukrainian companies from overseas, in our opinion, may soon change.
“The main reason for that would be the signing of the Association Agreement between EU and Ukraine in November, which should lead to gradual removal of trade barriers between our markets and would make Ukraine an attractive place for expanding business and locating production capacities due to lower labour costs to say the least. And do not forget that Ukraine itself has a population of 45 million making it an attractive place for business. So we do expect cross-border M&A activity to increase over the next two years and we are already seeing growing interest from European and US companies and financial investors.”
Mr Nekrasa stated that the main risk related to cross-border M&A in Ukraine, if one reads European newspaper or watches European news channels, is a political one. He noted that there is fear of not being able to defend investments, being subject to pressure from various government and law-enforcement organs, or corruption. However, in the firm’s opinion, these risks are vastly exaggerated.
“Just look at the list of foreign companies working successfully in Ukraine: CRH; Heidelberg Cement; Procter & Gamble; Nestle; AB InBev; Karlsberg Group; Bunge; Knauf; GlencoreXstrata; ArcelorMittal; Craft Foods; Henkel; Johnson & Johnson; Topfer; Metro Cash & Carry; Danone, and these are just the ones of the top of my head,” he elaborate Mr Nekrasa.
“I am sure their Ukrainian management will tell you that it is not easy to work in Ukraine, but that this market is just too important to ignore. There are differences and nuances in working in any different market, and multinational companies adapt to each and every market and learn to play by the local rules or even happen to change those rules. Certainly, risks in Ukraine are currently higher than in developed markets, but rewards for higher risks are also higher. And it is our role as a consultant to multinational companies to show them any such risks, real or perceived, and advise on dealing with them or avoiding altogether.”
In conclusion, Mr Nekrasa offered some advice for overcoming cultural barriers and ensuring effective interaction: “Quite often having a local minority shareholder or respected local top manager involved in a key role in running the company is the most effective way of adapting successfully to the local market.”
M&A market is still in standby mode
Myroslav Tabakharnyuk, LB.ua, 01.07.2013
Ukrainian M&A market in 2013 - trends and expectations
Expert opinion of Myroslav Tabakharnyuk, RBC-Ukraine, 18.04.2013
The volume of M&A transactions has increased by 7 times in the first quarter of 2013
Expert opinion of Myroslav Tabakharnyuk, Forbes, 09.04.2013
Companies need to think how to involve share capital, but not debt equity
Expert opinion of Myroslav Tabakharnyuk, Delo.ua, 11.02.2013
Pharmaceutical sector will be the most attractive for mergers and acquisitions this year
Expert opinion of Myroslav Tabakharnyuk, Delo.ua, 22.01.2012