Holding IDS Group Ukraine, one of the largest producers of mineral waters in Ukraine, cannot be nationalized, in accordance with the legislation currently in force in the country, since the share in the charter capital of the company of its shareholder with Russian citizenship, Mikhail Fridman, does not exceed 25%, IDS Ukraine CEO Marko Tkachuk told Interfax-Ukraine on Thursday.

At the same time, according to him, any sanction restrictions imposed by Ukraine against Fridman will concern only him personally and will not affect the work of the group of companies.

"Fridman is not the ultimate beneficial owner of the IDS Ukraine group of companies, since he does not own (directly and/or indirectly) a 25% stake. He owns 18.6% of the company's shares and does not have a decisive influence on the management or business activities of the company. The largest part of the company's shares [34%] is owned by British citizens of Georgian origin [the Patarkatsishvili family]," the CEO of the holding commented on the possibility of nationalizing the group of companies.

Tkachuk recalled that the nationalization of any property should take place on the basis of Ukrainian legislation. At the same time, according to the current version of the law on the basic principles for the compulsory seizure of objects of the property rights of the Russian Federation and its residents in Ukraine, those assets that belong to the state of Russia or its residents – legal entities, the founder or beneficiary of which is directly or indirectly the Russian Federation, can be nationalized.

"The IDS Ukraine group of companies does not in any way directly and/or indirectly belong to the Russian Federation and/or its residents. Therefore, the possible nationalization, in accordance with the current legislation, will not concern the IDS Ukraine group of companies," Tkachuk said.

He also said that the Ukrainian company IDS Ukraine has no ties with the Russian Federation, and the sanctions applied by Ukraine or other countries of the world against its shareholders with Russian citizenship are personal in nature, concern only the sanctioned persons themselves and do not have a direct impact on the operating activities of the holding. However, Tkachuk noted the negative impact of the seizure of corporate rights of IDS Ukraine on his business activities, which was imposed on the group of companies by the Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine (BES) in June 2022.

Tkachuk also explained that in the event of a hypothetical nationalization of IDS Ukraine, it considers the preservation of the current composition of its management to be the best option for managing the holding.

"In the case of nationalization, the best manager can be the current top management of the company, who has been managing the business for more than 15 years and effectively developing the business, regardless of who was and is the shareholder, because during this period the composition of shareholders changed several times," the CEO of the group said.