Ukraine’s wealthiest businessman is pulling out of the agribusiness sector: an agricultural empire comprising 25,000 hectares of land is up for sale

Rinat Akhmetov, Ukraine’s wealthiest businessman, is withdrawing from the agricultural sector. His investment group, “System Capital Management” (SCM), has agreed to sell a 75.1 per cent stake in the agricultural holding company “HarvEast” to Oleksandr Dubinin, owner of the “Parallel” petrol station chain. The deal covers a business managing around 25,000 hectares of land, whose activities include arable farming, seed production and a long-established dairy farming operation.

On 5 November, the Ukrainian Antimonopoly Committee granted permission to acquire a controlling stake. The value of the deal has not been officially disclosed, but land transaction consultants interviewed by the Ukrainian portal „Latifundist“ estimate it at between 35.8 and 40.3 million euros. The transaction is expected to be completed in 2027.

Founded in 2011, “HarvEast” was previously one of the largest agricultural holdings in eastern Ukraine. The company grows wheat, maize, sunflowers, rapeseed and other crops, and is developing its seed production. Its infrastructure comprised grain storage facilities with a capacity of 134,000 tonnes, a factory capable of producing 4,000 tonnes of animal feed per month, and three dairy farms. According to historical data, these farms housed around 2,500 head of cattle, whilst annual milk production exceeded 11.6 million litres. These figures do not necessarily reflect the company’s current production volumes.

The war has fundamentally altered the scale of the holding. According to “HarvEast”, control over 150,000 hectares of land in the Donetsk region was lost as a result of Russian aggression. At present, the company’s main operations are concentrated in the Kyiv region, where it cultivates around 25,000 hectares. The company’s website states that it employs 286 staff.

The new investor, O. Dubinin, owns the “Parallel” network, which comprises around 100 petrol stations. According to “Forbes Ukraine”, in 2025 its fuel sales rose by a third, whilst revenue increased by a quarter – to 215.5 million euros. By acquiring the agricultural holding, the group aims to diversify its activities and invest in irrigated seed production and bioenergy.

SCM emphasises that its withdrawal from the agribusiness sector was driven by the circumstances of the war and the desire to concentrate capital in its core business sectors. The new management promises to retain staff, honour existing contracts and ensure business continuity.

The deal is taking place against the backdrop of consolidation in Ukraine’s agricultural sector. According to “InVenture” estimates, in 2025, 18 mergers and acquisitions totalling approximately €149.6 million were completed in the country’s crop production sector. In the first four months of 2026 alone, their value exceeded €470.2 million.