Raiffeisen will buy out Deripaska’s frozen stake in the Austrian Strabag – Kommersant
[ad_1]
The Austrian financial group Raiffeisen Bank International AG (RBI) announced on December 19 that the Russian division will buy a 27.78% stake in the Austrian company Strabag SE for €1.5 billion. This share belonged to the structure of Oleg Deripaska and was frozen as part of the sanctions against the billionaire. The deal, if approved by the Russian authorities, will help the RBI withdraw half of its profits from Russia, and Mr. Deripaska – get rid of the frozen asset, draws attention Bloomberg.
The agency, citing corporate documents of the RBI, notes that if the transaction is approved, the block of shares as dividends in kind will be transferred to the management of a subsidiary of the RBI – Gabarts, which is led by the former top manager of several companies of Mr. Deripaska, Stefan Zohling. A Raiffeisen representative stressed to Bloomberg that Gabarts will manage the Strabag holding, but all control rights will remain with the parent company.
As Bloomberg reports, Mr. Zohling has long been associated with the companies of the Russian billionaire. In particular, in November 2021, the Austrian was appointed president of the Nikolaev Alumina Refinery, which belonged to Rusal, founded by Mr. Deripaska. In 2022, Ukraine took control of the plant. The press service of Rusal told the agency that Mr. Tsohling no longer works for the company.
In addition, Mr. Zohling participated in a number of Russian-Austrian transactions, for example, he bought the assets of the liquidated Sberbank Europe in Central and Eastern Europe. Purchase amount Austrian newspaper Standard estimated at €240 million.
The agency, citing Transstroy’s corporate documents, claims that Mr. Tsohling was the construction company’s chief operating officer when it was owned by Mr. Deripaska. At the same time, the Austrian participated in the implementation of Transstroy infrastructure projects related to the Olympics in Sochi, Bloomberg reports.
The share in Strabag that RBI wants to buy out has belonged to Oleg Deripaska’s company Rasperia since 2007. Raiffeisen emphasized that the deal will be implemented in strict accordance with the sanctions regime, the agency reports.
In March, the European Central Bank demanded that Raiffeisen Bank International close its business in Russia. Following this, the bank announced plans to sell the local unit. RBI Governor Johann Strobl said in October that the process of leaving the Russian market would not be completed until the end of 2023. He named the withdrawal of the Russian subsidiary from the international group as a backup option.
[ad_2]
Source link
