Metinvest, the steel conglomerate controlled by Ukrainian billionaire Rinat Akhmetov, said on Thursday that it had acquired West Virginia-headquartered United Coal Company, in a purchase estimated to be worth up to $1bn.

Analysts said the deal showed some of Ukraine’s leading businessmen were sufficiently cash-rich to make big purchases abroad in spite of a deep recession that has battered their country and halved production at their steel mills.