A Ukrainian business group has acquired iconic Polish tractor brand Ursus in a bankruptcy auction, buying back key production assets and pledging to revive the historic manufacturer.

MI Crow, led by kyiv-based entrepreneur Oleg Krot, bought the tractor company for 17 million euros after two previous auctions failed to attract buyers, leading authorities to reduce the price by 40% from 28.7 million euros.

This acquisition means that MI Crow now controls Ursus’ core assets, including production plants in the eastern Polish cities of Lublin and Dobre Miasto, valuable properties, comprehensive R&D documentation, production machinery and the rights to the Ursus brand.

The owners of MI Crow say they are committed to preserving Ursus’ agricultural heritage while modernizing the business for the future.

They also promised to retain the current workforce, add specialist staff and increase Ursus’ production capacity, with Krot expected to meet with employees next week to outline the company’s development plans .

Last years of Ursus

In 2015, Ursus considered expanding with contracts in Ethiopia, Tanzania and Zambia and introduced electric vehicle prototypes, partly funded by the government.

But those efforts were unsuccessful, creditors withdrew, and the company faced immediate loan recalls. Ursus then placed itself under legal protection and sold one of its factories for 1.4 million euros, still far from enough to cover its loans.

Tractor sales also fell: Ursus sold 904 units in 2016, ranking fourth in Poland, but by 2018 it had fallen to eighth with 354 units. In the first half of 2021, sales fell to just 42 and Ursus closed this year with a loss of 13.3 million euros.

The bankruptcy announcement marks the end of Ursus’ 125-year heritage and nearly a century of tractor production under its brand. Ursus developed its first tractor prototype in 1918 in Warsaw, and in 1922 its factory produced the first 25-horsepower “ciągówka” models. Today, almost half of Poland’s 1.5 million agricultural tractors are Ursus machines.

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