The cost of the Ukrainian agroholding Mriya, to be purchased by The Saudi Agricultural & Livestock Investment Co. (SALIC), is in the range of $175-300 million, according to investment experts interviewed by Interfax-Ukraine.

"Taking into account the land bank of Mriya of 165,000 hectares and the average EBITDA level in Ukraine of $300-400 per hectare, the cost of the agricultural holding including the debt could be $250-300 million, or five EBITDA," head of the analytical department of Art Capital Ihor Putilin believes.

According to Oleksandr Paraschiy, the head of the analytical department of Concorde Capital investment company, a more thorough assessment by the method of discounting cash flows shows the value of the company at $175 million with the cost of capital being 20% per annum and $238 million at 15% per annum.

"I think the fair price should be closer to the first figure - it more corresponds to the market value of the company's debt," he said.

If to exclude debt capital from this amount, the share capital of Mriya could be valued at up to $20 million, Paraschiy added.

Putilin noted that SALIC acquired Continental Farmers Group (CFG) with assets in Ukraine in 2013 for $85 million, or 10 EBITDA.

"Mriya seems to cost much cheaper, given the current Ukrainian risks," he said.