Ukrainian fuel group Parallel, owned by Oleksandr Dubinin, has agreed to acquire a controlling stake in HarvEast agricultural holding from Rinat Akhmetov's SCM. The potential transaction value is estimated at $35–55 million. The buyer plans to develop seed production and irrigation while exploring opportunities in bioethanol production.
Rinat Akhmetov's investment group SCM has agreed to sell its 75.1% stake in agricultural holding HarvEast to fuel company Parallel, owned by Oleksandr Dubinin. On November 5, 2026, the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine granted the necessary merger clearance.
According to SCM, the buyer, Parallel Nafta Limited, received approval to acquire control over UA Agrocom Limited and UAC Finance Limited, both registered in the British Virgin Islands. These companies serve as holding entities for the HarvEast agricultural group.
The parties have agreed on the terms of the sale, although the exact transaction value has not been disclosed. Official closing is expected in 2027, following the completion of the necessary legal procedures.
For SCM, the transaction will mark its exit from the agricultural sector and a further concentration of investments in priority business areas. For Parallel, it will represent its first major acquisition outside the fuel industry.
How Much Is HarvEast Worth? Deal Valuations Range from $35 Million to $55 Million
The market value of a 75.1% stake in HarvEast could reach $35–55 million. Land transaction advisers suggest a narrower valuation range of $40–45 million.
The valuation reflects not only the agricultural land bank of approximately 25,000 hectares but also agricultural machinery, production infrastructure, and a grain elevator with a storage capacity of around 20,000 tonnes.
Differences in land quality also affect the value of the business. Some farms cultivate productive farmland in the Kyiv region, while certain land plots, particularly in the Makariv district, have less fertile sandy soils.
Other significant valuation factors include the structure of land lease agreements, financial performance, investments in irrigation, and the potential for further development of seed production.
Based on the estimated $35–55 million valuation for the 75.1% stake, the implied value of 100% of HarvEast's equity could range from approximately $47 million to $73 million.
However, this represents only an arithmetic extrapolation of the expert valuation and does not account for a possible control premium, minority stake discount, or the company's debt structure.
The actual transaction price may differ from these estimates.
Oleksandr Dubinin declined to comment on the acquisition price, noting that the parties had agreed not to disclose the financial terms.
What Assets Will Parallel Acquire Through HarvEast?
HarvEast is an agricultural holding established in 2011 on the basis of the agricultural assets of the Illich Mariupol Iron and Steel Works.
Before the beginning of Russian aggression in 2014, the company's land bank exceeded 200,000 hectares, reaching approximately 220,000 hectares at its peak.
Following the occupation of parts of the Donetsk region in 2014, HarvEast lost access to around 55,000 hectares, along with some production facilities and agricultural machinery.
After Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, the company lost control over another 95,000 hectares of farmland, as well as a seed processing plant near Mariupol, irrigation systems, and other assets.
As a result, approximately 150,000 hectares of the company's historical land bank became located in temporarily occupied territories.
HarvEast currently operates approximately 24,000–25,000 hectares of farmland, primarily in the Kyiv region. Its operating business is based on farms in the Kyiv and Zhytomyr regions acquired in 2018.
According to HarvEast's own data, the company cultivated approximately 24,000 hectares of arable land in the Kyiv region in 2025.
The main crops include wheat, barley, corn, sunflower, rapeseed, soybeans, and flax.
Importantly, the transaction involves acquiring control over an operating agricultural business and its assets, rather than purchasing the company's entire historical land bank as privately owned farmland.
Seed Production and Irrigation: HarvEast's Key Advantages for the New Investor
One of the main reasons for Parallel's interest is HarvEast's technological specialization.
According to Oleksandr Dubinin, the decisive factors in selecting the investment were not the number of hectares but the quality of management, the team, technology, irrigation expertise, and seed production capabilities.
Unlike conventional agricultural businesses focused primarily on growing commodity grain, HarvEast develops the production of certified agricultural seeds under contracts with international seed breeding companies.
Its partners in the seed production segment include Limagrain, BASF, Syngenta, KWS, Corteva, Euralis, and other seed producers.
Irrigation technology also plays an important role.
Between 2018 and 2025 the company developed irrigation infrastructure covering more than 1,000 hectares in the Kyiv region.
Before the full-scale war, HarvEast also operated approximately 1,300 hectares of irrigated farmland in the Donetsk region but subsequently lost access to those facilities.
The company's retained technological expertise has allowed it to continue developing seed production in Ukrainian government-controlled territories.
The combination of its land bank, irrigation infrastructure, technological specialization, and partnerships with international companies enhances HarvEast's investment attractiveness.
HarvEast Financial Performance: Largest Group Company Generates Over UAH 915 Million in Revenue
HarvEast's full consolidated financial statements are not publicly available, making it difficult to assess the financial performance of the entire group based on disclosed information.
However, according to Forbes Ukraine, citing YouControl, the group's largest company, Agro-Holding MS, generated UAH 915.5 million in revenue in 2025, a 5% decrease compared with the previous year.
The company's net profit amounted to approximately UAH 302 million.
These figures relate to a single legal entity rather than the entire HarvEast group.
A comprehensive financial valuation of the agricultural holding would also require analysis of its debt obligations, the financial performance of other group entities, working capital structure, and expenditure required to maintain production infrastructure.
The existence of assets that have become inaccessible due to Russian occupation adds further complexity to the valuation.
Who Is Oleksandr Dubinin, and What Are Parallel's Financial Capabilities?
Parallel is a Ukrainian fuel group operating a network of filling stations under the Parallel brand.
In 2020, Oleksandr Dubinin acquired Parallel from Rinat Akhmetov's SCM. Market estimates suggested that the transaction could have been worth approximately $30 million.
Therefore, the acquisition of HarvEast will mark the second major transaction between businesses controlled by Dubinin and Akhmetov over the past six years.
In 2024, Parallel accelerated its expansion in the fuel market by acquiring the Motto and Prime filling station networks. According to Forbes Ukraine estimates, the acquisition of around 100 filling stations may have cost approximately $30 million.
As a result, in 2025 Parallel entered Ukraine's top ten fuel retail networks for the first time, ranking ninth with a market share of approximately 1.1%.
Parallel's financial results for 2025: group revenue reached UAH 11.2 billion, while net profit amounted to UAH 166 million. The company employed approximately 648 people.
According to YouControl, the group's key operating company, Parallel-M LTD, approximately doubled its revenue in the first half of 2026 to UAH 9.2 billion. At the same time, net profit declined threefold to UAH 30 million.
As of June 30, 2026, the company held UAH 6.9 million in cash, reported equity of UAH 645 million, and had UAH 694 million in short-term bank loans.
These figures indicate an active expansion of the fuel business but do not, on their own, reflect all the financial resources available to its owner and other group entities.
How Will Parallel Finance the HarvEast Acquisition?
Oleksandr Dubinin states that the acquisition will be financed using the buyer's own funds, without raising bank loans.
However, he has not disclosed the specific sources of financing, payment structure, or other financial terms of the transaction.
Given that the deal is valued at tens of millions of dollars, the financing structure is a significant consideration in assessing Parallel's investment strategy.
According to Dubinin, the company does not intend to take on debt that could negatively affect its operating activities.
Moreover, acquiring HarvEast does not mean abandoning expansion plans in the fuel sector. Parallel previously announced its intention to acquire approximately 350 filling stations and invest up to UAH 2 billion in network expansion and modernization.
Why Is a Fuel Company Entering Agribusiness? Diversification and Bioethanol Opportunities
Oleksandr Dubinin views HarvEast as a long-term investment with a horizon of 10–15 years.
According to him, the company is considering not only current grain market conditions but also Ukraine's strategic role as one of the world's leading food producers.
Parallel also sees opportunities for operational synergies between the fuel and agricultural businesses.
These primarily involve supplying fuel to agricultural machinery, optimizing petroleum product procurement, logistics, storage, and inventory management.
A more strategic opportunity could be bioethanol production.
Parallel already operates in the gasoline market, including fuels blended with bioethanol. Vertical integration with HarvEast could potentially allow the group to develop its own value chain, from growing agricultural feedstock to producing or supplying components for motor fuels.
Possible business models include supplying corn and other feedstocks to third-party bioethanol producers, investing in processing facilities, or developing in-house production capacity.
However, these are currently investment opportunities under consideration rather than an approved plant construction project.
According to Taras Mykolaienko, Director of the Association of Bioethanol Producers, existing and planned bioethanol production capacity in Ukraine already significantly exceeds domestic demand. Therefore, the economics of new production facilities require particularly careful assessment.
For Parallel, this means that potential synergies could be achieved not only by constructing its own plant but also through production partnerships, bioethanol trading, and integrated supply chains.
What Investments Does Parallel Plan for HarvEast?
In the initial phase, the new investor intends to preserve HarvEast's key competitive advantages and support the development of its established production activities.
Priority areas include seed production, irrigated farming, improving land productivity, and infrastructure modernization.
According to Dubinin, investments are expected to be financed primarily from HarvEast's operating profits.
A detailed development budget for the first two years will be prepared jointly with the agricultural holding's management after the transaction closes.
Another potential growth area for HarvEast is berry cultivation, particularly raspberries.
However, the company is cautious about expanding its berry farming operations due to the substantial initial capital requirements.
According to HarvEast CEO Dmytro Skorniakov, establishing one hectare of berry plantations may require investments exceeding €20,000, while the first year generates no revenue.
Consequently, the development of new capital-intensive business areas will depend on economic conditions, market trends, and the new owner's investment priorities.
SCM Exits Agriculture: What Happens to the Remaining 24.9% of HarvEast?
Upon completion of the transaction, Parallel will control the 75.1% stake in HarvEast currently owned by SCM.
The remaining 24.9% equity stake in the agricultural holding was historically owned by Vadym Novynskyi's Smart Holding.
According to Forbes Ukraine, this stake is held through a trust structure. Bulgarian citizen Milko Enev is identified as the trust's beneficiary, while Cypriot Soteris Ioannou is listed as its trustee.
Oleksandr Dubinin has stated that he is not currently considering acquiring the remaining 24.9% stake.
For SCM, the sale of its controlling stake will mark its withdrawal from the agricultural sector, which had previously been viewed as an area for investment portfolio diversification.
SCM explained its decision to sell in the context of wartime conditions and the need to concentrate financial resources on its core businesses.
Proceeds from the sale are expected to be directed toward developing key business operations in Ukraine and supporting the country through the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation, the Heart of Azovstal initiative, and Steel Front.
Despite the change in controlling shareholder, HarvEast is expected to continue its normal operations.
CEO Dmytro Skorniakov, the senior management team, and employees are expected to remain in their positions. Existing commitments to partners, landowners, lessors, and local communities will remain in force.
What Does the Parallel–HarvEast Deal Mean for Ukraine's M&A Market?
The potential $35–55 million transaction is significant for Ukraine's mergers and acquisitions market for several reasons.
First, it demonstrates continued interest from investors outside the agricultural sector in acquiring operating farming businesses despite wartime risks.
Second, HarvEast illustrates how an agricultural company's investment attractiveness depends not only on the size of its land bank but also on technological expertise, irrigation infrastructure, seed production, and opportunities to develop value-added products.
Third, the transaction highlights different strategic approaches among major Ukrainian business groups: SCM is concentrating capital on its core activities, while Parallel is diversifying its operations by entering the agricultural sector.
Finally, the HarvEast acquisition could create opportunities to establish a vertically integrated business spanning agriculture, logistics, energy, and biofuel production.
If the transaction is completed, Parallel will become the new controlling shareholder of HarvEast, while SCM will fully exit the agricultural business.
The Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine has granted the necessary merger clearance, but the legal closing of the transaction is still pending.
