US investors revive Ukrainian grain terminal Olympex

American investors Argentem Creek Partners and Innovatus Capital Partners are relaunching the Olympex Coupe International terminal at the port of Odessa after it was handed over to them. The terminal was previously owned by Serhiy Groza and Volodymyr Naumenko’s GNT Group, the Financial Times reports.

“The Zelensky administration recently helped two American funds collect a $95 million debt from Odessa tycoons who previously owned the terminal and defaulted on loans, and who allegedly misrepresented grain collateral in the chaos of the Russian invasion,” the publication reports.

Following the arrest in May of one of the businessmen, Volodymyr Naumenko, on charges of defrauding creditors, the Supreme Court of Ukraine signed an agreement on Wednesday to transfer the terminal.

“As in any emerging market, there are certain things you have to be prepared for when you encounter them. But in Ukraine, even during the war, we were able to uphold the rule of law. It took longer, but we are getting there, and that has always been my thesis on Ukraine,” said John Patton, a partner at Argentem Creek.

The US funds had previously won an international arbitration award for $150 million and several UK court rulings, but had a long battle in the Ukrainian courts before Wednesday’s transfer.

“Our role in this case was purely a coordination one — we brought it to the attention of the relevant authorities. This case is yet another confirmation that Ukraine is a state governed by the rule of law,” said Andriy Yermak, head of the Ukrainian president’s office.

“Ukraine has such great potential for attracting investment, but it needs to get rid of the reputation that doing business in Ukraine is high-risk due to fraud,” said Karl Sturen, an experienced Swedish entrepreneur in Ukraine who will manage the grain terminal.

Patton said he would like to restart the terminal “sometime in the summer.”

“It could be as early as September, but it’s harvest season, so now is the time to get it up and running again,” he added.

As a reminder, a public legal dispute erupted in December 2022 between GNT Group and its creditors, ACP and Innovatus Capital Partners. The conflict also concerned the grain terminal Olimpex Coupe International.

Tags: grain terminal, Olympex