Investors are sifting rice – Business – Kommersant
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A structure connected with the co-owner of UMMC Iskandar Makhmudov, which bought out the debts of the large producer of cereals and vegetables AFG National, recovered 99.9% of the parent company of the agricultural holding through the court. Taking into account the debt of 3.3 billion rubles. the asset was valued at more than 3.5 billion rubles. The new owner can divide the business into several parts to optimize management, experts say.
Associated with UMMC co-owner Iskandar Makhmudov (ranks 31st in the Forbes rating with a fortune of $ 3.6 billion), the Investcom company should receive ownership of 99.9% of AFG National LLC. The corresponding decision was made by the court of the Krasnodar Territory, satisfying the application of Investcom for the recovery of 3.35 billion rubles. from the structures of AFG National. This share was pledged under this loan agreement. The cost of the package, excluding debt, is 205.13 million rubles, according to the materials of the court. AFG National and Investcom did not provide any comments.
AFG National was established in 2013 as a result of the merger of the largest rice producer AF-Group and the distributor of cereals Angstrem Group. According to its own data, it occupies 18% of the packaged cereals market under the brands National, Agrokultura, Prosto. It grows potatoes, carrots, beets, onions, supplying products under the brands “Natural Selection”, “Vegetable League”, and is also engaged in the production of cereals. According to BEFL, as of July this year, AFG National managed more than 180,000 hectares of land.
Ivan Yuzefovich is listed as the owner of Investcom in the Unified State Register of Legal Entities. He also heads and owns 30% of KM Group LLC, where Mr. Makhmudov controls 70%. In addition, Mr. Yuzefovich was a member of the board of directors of the UMMC and Aeroexpress structures, among whose co-owners Iskandar Makhmudov.
The fact that Investcom bought the rights of claim to AFG National from Rosselkhozbank and plans to foreclose on the assets, Kommersant reported in May. Kommersant’s interlocutors in the industry linked the deal to a criminal case against Dmitry Arzhanov, the founder of AFG National, which could have a negative impact on the business of the agricultural holding. Mr. Arzhanov was previously the CEO and co-owner of the TNS Energo holding, and in 2020 he was arrested on charges of embezzling 5.5 billion rubles. from PJSC Rosseti Center and Volga Region. Businessman denies allegationssee Kommersant dated November 3, 2020).
Against the backdrop of a possible change in the owner of AFG National, the holding began optimizing its asset portfolio. So, earlier in September it became known that AFG National and Gennady Timchenko’s Volga Group can sell joint horticultural farm “Southern Lands” to one of the largest producers of apples – “Garden-Giant”.
Andrey Sizov, director of Sovecon, says that rice cultivation, the production of cereals and vegetables, and contracts with retailers can be singled out as one part of AFG National’s business, with which the crop division weakly overlaps.
According to him, grain production is an independent market that operates on different conditions, farms require separate equipment. According to the expert, the new owner of AFG National can divide the agricultural holding into several parts for optimization.
Iskandar Makhmudov, through Violan LLC, also owns 50% of Cosminvest, which is included in the list of the largest Russian owners of agricultural land. According to BEFL, from May 2021 to July 2022, Cosminvest increased its land bank by 83 thousand hectares, up to 210 thousand hectares, which corresponds to the 26th place in the rating.
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