Grain trader Demetra Holding will have an investor from Oman

Oman’s Southern Sea Investment LLC will become part of the owners of the Demetra grain infrastructure holding. This was reported to Vedomosti by two sources close to the planned deal. Demetra Holding itself confirmed the information, pointing out that the beneficiary of the Omani company is an investment fund owned by the state of Oman. A request to the government of this country remained unanswered. What share in Demetra Holding the Omani company will receive is not disclosed.

Earlier on July 6, on the sidelines of the Financial Congress, Andrey Kostin, chairman of the board of the bank, announced that the bank had exited the grain business. “We had a stake in Demetra Holding, less control, about 45% there. We are her [долю] implemented. The deal was closed the other day. I can’t say who the buyer is – this is his right to declare himself,” he said. He did not name the amount of the transaction, specifying only that “the price is objective, and the margin is decent.” In early June 2023, in an interview with Reuters, Kostin said that both Russian and foreign investors were considered as potential buyers.

One of Vedomosti’s sources says that technically the deal is complexly structured, one of its stages is an additional issue. According to him, Oman’s Southern Sea Investment LLC is not a direct buyer of VTB’s stake, but an anchor investor – one of the buyers of the additional issue, which is carried out by the grain holding. Also, he claims, the Russian owners of Demetra-Holding will expand their participation following the additional issue. Shares of participants will not be disclosed.