Kernel Holding S.A. () is the largest producer of
sunflower oil in
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
. It operates under the brands ''Shchedry Dar'', ''Stozhar'' and ''Chumak Zolota'', exports oils and grain worldwide, and provides storage for grains and seeds.
It produces 8% of sunflower oil in the world and its products are supplied to sixty countries. It operates 28
grain elevators in Ukraine with a total storage capacity of 2.34 million tons of grain, the highest among private-sector companies in the country.
History
It was established in 1994 by
Andriy Verevskyi.
Kernel launched an
initial public offering
An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investm ...
on the
Warsaw Stock Exchange in 2007,
becoming the second Ukrainian company to hold an IPO in Warsaw. In 2020, ''
Forbes Ukraine'' ranked Kernel as the third-largest private-sector company in Ukraine by revenue. ''Forbes Ukraine'' ranked Kernel the fourth-best employer in its 2021 list of the fifty best employers in the country.
The company is actively investing in the development of small and medium
agribusiness
Agribusiness is the industry, enterprises, and the field of study of value chains in agriculture and in the bio-economy,
in which case it is also called bio-business or bio-enterprise.
The primary goal of agribusiness is to maximize profit ...
in Ukraine. Since 2019, the Open Agribusiness affiliate program has been operating. Kernel provides small and medium-sized partners with technology and agronomic support, access to credit, currency and forward programs. The company also helps partners to protect property from raiders, provides funding for the construction of elevators, granaries, land purchase. The project allows farmers to increase land productivity, increase yields and profits.
In 2023 ''Kernel Holding'' announced its intention to delist from
Warsaw Stock Exchange. Andrii Verevskyi announced an offer to buy out all the shareholders in ''Kernel Holding'' at a share price approximately three times below their pre-war value, claiming the exit was due to
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The delisting was described as a cynical move to push out minority shareholders which could undermine foreign funding for the postwar reconstruction of Ukraine.
Verevskyi is currently entangled in a bitter courtroom fight with minority shareholders.
[{{Cite web , date=2024-06-12, title=Ukrainian agricultural group boss warns Kyiv against export feud with EU, url=https://www.ft.com/content/0e420b8c-132c-42fc-bddf-c354f46b8856, access-date=2024-06-13, website=ft.com, language=en]
References
Companies based in Kyiv
Ukrainian companies established in 1994
Companies listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange
Agriculture companies of Ukraine