US business gets rid of Ukrainian assets

While the White House is declaring support for Kyiv and US billionaire George Soros is promising it large investments, the Bank of New York Mellon has sold almost all of its shares in Motor Sich, the biggest producer of aircraft engines and gas turbines in the CIS.

According to Ukrainian mass media, as a result of this deal, the bank’s stake in the Ukrainian company has shrunk from 10.55% to 1.23%. 2013 was the last profitable year for Motor Sich as most of its products were exported to Russia. The company’s net profit that year amounted to 1.3bn UAH.

But in 2014 Russia imposed a three-year moratorium on the import of aircraft engines from Ukraine following that country’s decision to forbid its defense companies to have any contacts with Russia.

Motor Sich manufactures engines for Mi-2, Mi-8/Mi-17 and KA-226 helicopters and An-70, An-124, An-140, An–148 and Yak-130 planes.