Tbilisi’s Rike Tubes sold to new private owner

Rike Tubes in Tbilisi, located on Europe Square, have been sold by businessman Davit Khidasheli’s company Global Victory Trust. The new owner is a recently established firm named Rike Dom LLC.

The ownership change was officially registered in the Public Registry on May 5, following the submission of required documents. The purchase application was initially filed on May 2.

Rike Dom LLC was incorporated on April 24. The company’s director is Mikheil Tkeshelashvili, who also manages shares in several businesses linked to ruling party Georgian Dream MP Giorgi Barvenashvili, including GGG Georgia, GORAGROUP, and Parna.

Rike Dom is fully owned by N.G.B LLC, whose sole shareholder is Tornike Kopaliani. When contacted by Radio Liberty for comment on the acquisition, Kopaliani declined to answer.

The Rike Tubes had not been state property since March 2022. They were sold after six failed attempts at auction, eventually purchased at one-tenth of their original price for 10,020,000 GEL by Global Victory Trust, a company closely tied to Georgian Dream.

As part of the sales agreement, the buyer committed to repurpose the 14,591-square-meter land plot within 36 months to house a wine museum, digital art and technology spaces, and conference/exhibition venues.

The futuristic tubular structure, completed in 2012, was originally intended to host an art center and the Theatre of Music and Drama under the Ministry of Economy. Later, public campaigns called for a wine museum in the space. Eventually, the ruling Georgian Dream government decided to privatize the site.