(Reuters) – Ukraine-focused miner Ferrexpo said on Thursday the Commercial Court of Poltava has accepted an application to consider opening bankruptcy proceedings of its Ukrainian unit, Ferrexpo Poltava Mining (FPM).
Ferrexpo shares fell 6.6% to 65 pence after the announcement.
While the application has been accepted, no formal bankruptcy proceedings of the unit have commenced yet, the company said.
The court has scheduled a preparatory court hearing for May 27 at which it will consider the bankruptcy application.
Ferrexpo has been battling legal disputes in Ukraine since 2022, when its controlling shareholder, Ukrainian billionaire Kostiantyn Zhevago, was arrested on charges of embezzlement and his involvement with the now-bankrupt lender Finance & Credit Bank.
A Ukrainian court had upheld a 4.73 billion hryvnias ($114.06 million) claim against FPM in 2024, which asserted that the unit, which operates Ferrexpo’s largest mine, had provided some sureties to Bank F&C.
This claim was later suspended by the Ukrainian court of appeal and a decision is still pending.
($1 = 41.4690 hryvnias)
(This story has been corrected to say that the court accepted the application to consider opening bankruptcy proceedings, not to open proceedings, in paragraph 1)
(Reporting by Yamini Kalia in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee and Shailesh Kuber)
