Varus, the supermarket chain owned by businessmen Ruslan Shostak and Valeriy Kiptyk, intends to acquire Kolo, a convenience-store network owned by Hennadiy Butkevych, a co-owner of the ATB retail chain. The Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU) is scheduled to review the relevant merger clearance application on 16 July.
According to information published on the AMCU’s website, the application was submitted by Omega LLC, the operator of the Varus chain. The documents were filed with the committee on 4 June 2026. The company is seeking approval to acquire control over Aritail LLC, which operates the Kolo store network.
Omega LLC is owned in equal shares by Valeriy Kiptyk and Ruslan Shostak and serves as the operating company of the Varus chain. The first Varus supermarket opened in Dnipro in 2003. The network currently comprises 115 supermarkets across various regions of Ukraine, as well as a dark store in Kyiv. The company operates several retail formats, including traditional supermarkets, Varus To Go stores, and an online store.
According to YouControl, Omega LLC’s revenue increased by 20% in 2025, reaching UAH 24.1 billion.
The Kolo chain began operations in May 2017 and specialises in the convenience-store format. It currently comprises more than 250 outlets, located primarily in Kyiv, the Kyiv Region, and Odesa. The chain’s operator, Aritail LLC, is owned by Hennadiy Butkevych, one of the co-owners of ATB, Ukraine’s largest supermarket chain.
According to YouControl, Aritail LLC’s revenue increased by 23% in 2025 to almost UAH 3.3 billion.
Subject to AMCU approval, the transaction would enable Varus to significantly strengthen its position in the convenience-store segment and expand its presence in the Kyiv metropolitan area, where most Kolo stores are concentrated. The regulator’s decision will be one of the key stages in the implementation of the potential transaction.
