RBC: authorities did not agree on the sale of Mondi’s Russian business in Syktyvkar

The Russian authorities did not agree on the sale of the main asset of the Austrian manufacturer of packaging products Mondi, which in August of this year decided to transfer the plant in Syktyvkar to the investment company Augment Investments Limited, the shareholder of Pharmstandard, Viktor Kharitonin. About it informed RBC with reference to sources.

The fact that Mondi intends to sell the Syktyvkar plant became known in August. It was expected that the amount of the transaction will be 95 billion rubles. It was supposed to be closed in the second half of 2022. For this, it was necessary to obtain approval from the Russian government’s subcommittee on foreign investment control and the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS).

According to RBC sources, the deal could have been rejected by the FAS or the government commission “due to its inconsistency with approaches to the sale of assets of international companies in Russia as part of the termination of work.”

Mondi’s Syktyvkar Timber Complex (TIC) in Komi produces pulp, packaging and uncoated paper, and is the largest supplier of uncoated paper and containerboard to the Russian domestic market. The company employs about 4500 people. The revenue of Mondi Syktyvkar in 2021 amounted to 821 million euros. As of June 30, 2022, the value of the business was 1.59 billion euros, the company specified.

December 15 Mondi also informed on the decision to sell the business in Russia to the local company Gotek for 1.6 billion rubles, an agreement was concluded. It is clarified that the business in Russia includes a corrugated cardboard plant and two plants for the production of consumer flexible materials for the domestic Russian market.

On his desire to sell the Russian business to Mondi reported May 4th. The company noted that Mondi’s Russian facilities have coped with supply chain constraints, but the situation is still unstable, so there may be interruptions in the production of paper and pulp in the future.

According to information on the Mondi website, the group owns four plants in Russia – in Syktyvkar, Pereslavl-Zalessky, Sverdlovsk and Lipetsk regions. There are also several product dealers in Russia. According to Mondi, the company’s losses as a result of leaving the market will amount to 70-80 million euros at the current rate. The transaction is expected to be closed in the first half of 2023. However, the exact date was not announced due to the necessary approvals. The deal is to get.