Azbuka Vkusa has new owners
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Azbuka Vkusa has changed owners; billionaires Alexander Abramov and Alexander Frolov have agreed to exit the retailer’s capital. As the company clarifies, the deal is closed. The new shareholder and investor of the supermarket chain was the Bavero Group joint-stock company; the company was registered in the Perm region in 2023, its beneficiaries are not disclosed.
The sale of Azbuka Vkusa was planned long ago, and now the retailer has achieved the best results in recent years, says the head of the Infoline-Analytics company, Mikhail Burmistrov: “Azbuka Vkusa finished the last year very well, they have quite high growth rates, almost 11 %. The main contribution in terms of growth was made in the fourth quarter, and these figures can be called phenomenal, growth for the fourth quarter was above 26%. Of course, this is due to the continued implementation of all the company’s key strategic initiatives: the development of its own production and expansion of the product range, the development of direct imports and its own brands.
According to our estimates, the current value of the company’s business could be about RUB 35 billion. The sale of a business is a standard story; after all, the company included financial investors. And any financial investor has a clear horizon in terms of completing a transaction. Now was a good opportunity to get out.”
The operating company of ABC of Taste, City Supermarket, is owned by Cypriot Demanor Investments. It is planned to transfer the parent company to Russian jurisdiction soon. In early March, the government included the company in the list of economically significant organizations, and in early April the procedure for forced redomiciliation began. However, Sergei Novikov, partner at the law firm GRM, doubts that the sale of shares is connected specifically with this process:
“The government is releasing a list of economically significant organizations, which includes, in fact, the City Supermarket, which is the operating company of ABC of Taste. As part of the inclusion of economically significant organizations in this list, a procedure of so-called forced redomiciliation is possible, which companies use after some time.
At the end of March, the president of Azbuka Vkusa filed an application to transfer the company’s shares directly to the ownership of the City Supermarket. Apparently, Mr. Abramov and Frolov received some kind of offer that they, as businessmen, could not refuse. I think that the sale of shares in ABC of Taste is based solely on market conditions and is not related to the upcoming redomiciliation and any other sanctions stories. Both Mr. Frolov and Mr. Abramov are under sanctions from various states.”
Among the contenders for the purchase of ABC of Taste, the media previously named Yandex Corporation, as well as retailers Magnit and X5 Group. In 2023, the network increased revenue to 86 billion rubles. The net profit of Azbuka Vkusa amounted to 812 million, while the retailer completed 2022 with a loss of 952 million.
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