Western leasing goes at half price – Kommersant

It became known about the sale of two captive leasing companies – the German “Deutsche Leasing Vostok” and the French “ALD Automotive”. Their portfolios, as well as their client base, diluted significantly, and the companies could be bought out by Russian investors at a 50% discount. According to experts, the competencies of employees of these organizations are of the greatest interest to investors.

Over the past two weeks, two foreign financial groups at once announced the completion of transactions for the sale of subsidiaries of leasing companies in Russia, continuing the series of changes in ownership in companies in the industry (see Kommersant of January 31).

Deutsche Leasing announced the buyout of Deutsche Leasing Vostok by the management of the Russian company with the involvement of a financial investor. All settlements under the deal were completed in the first quarter. Who became the financial investor, the parties to the transaction are not disclosed.

At the end of April, the French group Societe Generale completed the sale of its subsidiary ALD Automotive. This information is confirmed by the data of the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, according to which JSC Central Committee, associated with the structures of Igor Kim, one of the owners of Expobank, became the new owner.

The participants in the transactions did not respond to Kommersant’s requests.

Three interlocutors of Kommersant in the leasing market believe that the investor in the deal for Deutsche Leasing Vostok could be Alfa-Bank or structures related to it. “One of the companies of AB-Holding (the parent structure of the bank.— “b”) participated in the buyout of this company as a minority investor, ”says one of Kommersant’s interlocutors. However, Alfa-Bank denies participation in the deal, as well as Alfa-Leasing.

The possible participation in the transaction of persons affiliated with companies under sanctions raises questions among lawyers. The seller is registered in the EU, respectively, the level of involvement of the sanctioned person in this transaction, as well as the seller’s awareness of the participation of such a person in the transaction, will matter, says Ekaterina Tokareva, partner at the Pen & Paper Bar Association.

A bigger problem could be getting the proceeds from the sale of the assets. According to the managing partner of the law firm Enterprise Legal Solutions Yuri Fedyukin, “these funds will go to special accounts, and in what perspective and under what conditions they can be withdrawn, it’s still quite difficult to say,” the lawyer emphasizes (see Kommersant dated March 24 ).

Russian legislation does not imply any special obligations when making such transactions. “However, the transactions themselves may contain certain conditions related to financing, payment of dividends, resale, if foreign companies plan to return to Russia in the future,” Ms. Tokareva points out.

The Deutsche Leasing Vostok deal “most likely became a portfolio deal,” two market participants believe, explaining that “the buyer acquired a liquid portfolio at a large discount.” However, a Kommersant source familiar with the buyer’s plans emphasizes that the new owners of Deutsche Leasing Vostok see prospects in the leasing segment and “want to use the experience and customer base of the team that will remain in the company.”

ALD Automotive is “interesting precisely from the point of view of business development, because it is the largest player in operating leasing,” notes one of Kommersant’s interlocutors. And there were many who wanted to buy this company, but Societe Generale banned most of the applicants from participating in the competition, another market participant notes.

The cost of transactions is not disclosed. According to Kommersant’s interlocutors, taking into account a 50% discount, ALD Automotive can be valued at 8-13 billion rubles. With Deutsche Leasing Vostok, the situation is more difficult to assess – it is difficult to assess what exactly is left in their portfolio, in addition, it has significantly blurred among other market players. However, according to Kommersant’s interlocutors, the company could cost buyers 7 billion rubles.

Polina Trifonova, Ksenia Dementieva