Mercedes received an option to buy back its Russian assets

The German automaker Mercedes-Benz received an option to buy back its assets in the Russian Federation in the event that sanctions are lifted when agreeing on a deal for their sale to the Avtodom dealer holding, writes Handelsblatt newspaper.

“We have agreed with the buyer an option that allows us to buy back the shares of the company in the event that sanctions are lifted,” the group said.

Similar scenarios for returning to the Russian market with the stabilization of the geopolitical situation were also envisaged by some other automakers who left Russia, for example, Renault and Nissan, the publication reminds.

The fact that within the framework of the deal between Mercedes and Avtodom an option may be provided, under which the German automaker will be able to return to ownership of the plant within a certain time, Vedomosti wrote back in October last year, having learned about the impending deal.

Earlier today became known on the purchase by Avtodom of the Russian assets of Mercedes-Benz, including a plant in the Moscow region. As noted by Interfax, the deal was closed on April 18, as a result of which Avtodom became the owner of 100% of the shares in the Moscow region enterprise Mercedes-Benz Manufacturing Rus and the company that was engaged in leasing, factoring and insurance of Mercedes-Benz Capital cars. Rus”.

At the same time, Avtodom reported that the deal had not yet been closed. According to a company representative, “hard work is underway with government agencies to finalize and close the deal.”

Mercedes launched a plant located in the Esipovo industrial park (Solnechnogorsk district of the Moscow region) on April 3, 2019. The declared investment amounted to at least 15 billion rubles. The plant is designed to produce 25,000-30,000 premium cars per year. The production site has been idle since the beginning of March.