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Eastern Europe
May 17, 2019 www.intellinews.com I Page 16
Russian Railways sets price for Transcontainer asset below the market
bne IntelliNews
Russian Railways (RZD) set the price for a possible sale of 50%-plus-2 shares in container operator Transcontainer at RUB36.2bn, the lower band of the valuation of the company estimated by Pricewater- houseCoopers, Vedomosti daily and Reuters reported citing the head of the company Andrei Starkov.
Last month the Russian government outlined the rules for the sale of the controlling stake in Trans- container, one of the most valuable transportation assets in Russia, on a market that saw a number of large deals in 2018. Trancontainer’s sale has been delayed several times in botched privatisation efforts.
The possible price is below the market, as capi- talisation of the company in Moscow stands at about RUB89bn, but it would allow the company to attract a "wide number of investors," according to Starkov, adding that the auction of RZD's stake is planned for summer 2019.
In 2018 Russian billionaires Roman Abramovich and Alexander Abramov already acquired 24.5% stake in Transcontainer from RZD and reportedly intended to seek a controlling stake in one of Russia's most valuable transportation assets.
Last year maritime transportation major Fesco that controls the Far East Sea Port terminal sold 25.07% in Transcontainer to state-controlled VTB Bank, also the largest creditor of the container operator. Fesco's largest shareholder with 32.5% is Summa Group of jailed Kremlin-connected oligarch and Ziyavudin Magomedov, who since his arrest in 2018 was pressured to sell a number of major transportation assets.
Unconfirmed reports claimed that VTB Bank could re-sell the stake to strategic investors Roman Abramovich and Vladimir Lisin.
Russia's Transneft oil pipeline monopoly admits possible "dirty oil" damage
Russian state oil pipeline operator Transneft should compensate the losses incurred from supplied of contaminated oil should the damage be proven, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak told the press on May 16 after a meeting with his Belarusian counterpart Igor Lyashenko and the head of Transneft Nikolai Tokarev.
"Of course – and sadly – Transneft," Kozak said as cited by Reuters, when asked who would pay for disrupted oil exports via Druzhba pipeline and the port of Ust-Luga due to the high levels of organic
chlorine, which can damage refinery equipment.
This week the shipments of clean oil from Ust-Luga have reportedly begun, while Russia
is "working to resume supplies by a pipeline to Europe." Test deliveries via Druzhba pipeline have already started to Hungary's MOL energy major, with regular shipments possibly resuming by the end of this week.
Read the full story here