Ukraine's richest man buys French villa for 200m euros

London

RINAT Akhmetov, Ukraine's richest man, has emerged as the buyer of the historic Villa Les Cedres in the south of France.

The sprawling estate on the French Riviera is a "long-term investment", said a statement issued by Akhmetov's SCM Holdings Limited.

Italian beverage company Davide Campari-Milano agreed to sell the property last year for 200 million euros (S$29.1 million) at the time, it said last August, without naming the buyer.

Mr Akhmetov, who has amassed a US$6.1 billion fortune according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, founded System Capital Management, Ukraine's largest industrial conglomerate.

He also owns Shakhtar Donetsk Football Club, a team currently at the top of the standings in the Ukrainian Premier League.

The billionaire's latest acquisition adds one of France's most storied properties to a real estate portfolio that includes an apartment in London's One Hyde Park development, opposite the Harrods department store in Knightsbridge.

His purchase of Villa Les Cedres was first reported by TheFinancial Times on Monday.

"Real estate is a key business area for investment in Europe and North America, along with mining and metals, energy, media and transportation," the company's statement said.

Italian distiller Campari acquired the property when it bought the Grand Marnier Group in 2016.

It appointed broker Savills to list the villa for 350 million euros the following year.

The 14-bedroom mansion is set in 35 acres in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, and was once owned by King Leopold II of Belgium before being sold to the Marnier-Lapostolle family in the 1920s. BLOOMBERG