Rumors Confirmed as Dragon Capital Acquires Karavan Outlet Shopping Mall

Ukraine’s Anti-Monopoly Committee (AMKU) approved the purchase of 50% of the Karavan Outlet shopping mall by Dragon Capital Group (DCG) but Ukraine’s major investment bank announced they have acquired 100% of the business. 

DCG belongs to Czech entrepreneur Tomas Fiala which has retained its position as Ukraine’s largest property investor following the 2022 full-scale invasion, despite the company having sold at least four assets in the last 2.5 years, including two business centers in Kyiv and two warehouses in the Kyiv region, according to Forbes.

“This acquisition is part of Dragon Capital's strategy to manage its commercial real estate portfolio,” Dragon Capital’s press release said. 

The deal was closed between Fiala’s LLC “DC Kyiv Outlet” and “Trade Solutions” LLC, owned by the previous Karavan owner Oleksandr Yaroslavsky. 

Yaroslavsky is a Kharkiv-based Ukrainian entrepreneur who has owned the Karavan shopping mall network, “Karavan Megastore” since 2013. Karavan Megastore includes three shopping malls in Kyiv, Dnipro and Kharkiv with a total area of 250,000 square meters (2,690,975 square feet).

Dragon Capital’s press release on the acquisition did not mention the price paid for the Karavan purchase. Concorde Capital estimated that Fiala would have paid $80-120 million for Karavan while Forbes Ukraine estimated a more modest price of $40-60 million. 

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According to an unnamed senior manager questioned by Forbes, Karavan earns about $6-7 million per year in leasing. 

Previously, Kyiv Post wrote that AMCU gave the permission to buy only 50% of the shopping mall, although eventually, Fiala bought the full 100% of the shopping mall, to become the sole owner of the commercial property. 

Karavan Outlet was opened in 2003 and was one of the first shopping malls in Kyiv. In 2019 Yaroslavsky changed it from a retail sales establishment to an outlet mall.