A big plus for Ukraine: how the Supreme Court and the AMCU protected a foreign investor

Back on September 11, the Supreme Court of Ukraine upheld the permit for the Irish company CRH to acquire two cement plants of the Italian group Buzzi Unicem. A lawsuit against foreign investors was filed by the Kovalska construction company, calling for the revocation of the AMCU's merger clearance.

The Italian Buzzi Unicem owned two cement plants, Volyn-Cement and Pivden-Cement, in Rivne and Mykolaiv regions. When Buzzi Unicem was preparing to leave Ukraine because it was recognized as a sponsor of the war, there was already information on the market that the Irish CRH would buy these plants.

Cement Roadstone Holding is a large international company with operations in 32 countries. It has been present in Ukraine since 1999 and has been actively creating jobs.

Ukraine has always been a difficult country to invest in, so in my opinion, we need to appreciate foreign investors.

CRH owns several other cement plants in Ukraine. The AMCU, realizing this, ordered CRH to sell 25% of the shares in PJSC "Viptsem", through which the Irish company owns the plants, to an independent third party within nine months. In the summer of this year, 25% of PJSC "Viptsem" was sold to the Irish company Divinereach, which will have the right to veto the decisions of the majority owner of the company CRH.

"Kovalska insisted that the purchase of the two cement plants gave CRH the opportunity to concentrate more than 50% of the market in one hand. Despite the fact that the Irish agreed and eventually sold 25% of the shares in the company through which they own the two cement plants.