Kremlin-connected Tycoons expand as western firms exit Russia
As Western companies withdraw from Russia, a new class of businessmen loyal to the Kremlin is emerging, boosting their wealth by acquiring assets sold at reduced prices, writes the British newspaper "Financial Times" on Wednesday.
The newspaper cites Alexei Sagal as an example. Sagal is an entrepreneur from the Stavropol region in the south of the country who has become a key buyer of Western companies' assets. Last week, his group Arnest, a subcontractor for some of the world's largest consumer goods producers, agreed to buy Unilever's Russian business for £450 million.
Previously, it acquired the Russian assets of Dutch brewery Heineken, American aluminium packaging producer Ball Corporation, and Swedish cosmetics group Oriflame. As a result, according to the company's information, its sales revenue doubled from 7.4 billion roubles (about £62 million) in 2021 to 13.9 billion roubles (over £117 million) last year, and profit grew approximately 24 times, from 40.6 million roubles (about £340,000) to 972.8 million roubles (about £8 million).
The rapid rise of Sagal shows how the Russian invasion of Ukraine has sparked the largest redistribution of assets in the country since the fall of the Soviet Union, giving rise to a new generation of state-affiliated capitalists, notes "FT".
- Arnest was relatively unknown until companies needed to sell their assets. At that time, it became a regular and effective bidder. The mass exodus of Western companies from the country created a new class of entrepreneurs - said one of the lawyers assisting Western companies in exiting Russia to the newspaper.
Only those favoured by the authorities can get approval to acquire these assets. No one gets them by accident, said Ilya Shumanov, head of the Russian branch of Transparency International.
Another businessman acquiring Western assets is Ivan Tavrin, who in 2022 bought the Avito classifieds site from the media conglomerate Naspers for approximately £1.9 billion, and a year later acquired the Russian assets of the German consumer goods giant Henkel.
"FT" points out that finding buyers acceptable to both Western regulators and the Kremlin is becoming an increasingly significant challenge for companies wanting to leave Russia. International corporations must conduct thorough analysis of bidders and sometimes seek approval from their own regulatory bodies to ensure they do not violate Western sanctions. "The list of potential Russian buyers who meet these criteria is steadily narrowing," said a person who advised on several exit transactions.
The company Arnest, established in 1971 in Sagal's hometown, Nevinnomyssk, as a state chemical plant, has a key advantage - its owner is not subject to Western sanctions. According to sources cited by the newspaper, he is closely connected with Denis Manturov, Russia's deputy prime minister overseeing the defense sector, who in turn is a protégé of Sergei Chemezov, who served in the KGB alongside Vladimir Putin in the 1980s and now heads the state defense conglomerate Rostec. Both Manturov and Chemezov - unlike Sagal - are subject to sanctions.
Exiting Russia very costly for companies
Foreign companies must also comply with increasingly strict Russian regulations, including agreeing to substantial discounts. The larger the transaction, the more likely the involvement of the Kremlin and ministers.
"FT" adds that exiting Russia may become even more costly for Western firms as the Russian authorities want to retain some portion of Western assets in the country as a safeguard in case the West intends to confiscate Russian assets abroad.
According to two people familiar with these plans cited by the newspaper, the measures under consideration include raising the mandatory discount Western companies must agree to from 50% to 60%, and increasing the sales tax from 15% to 35%. Additionally, for transactions valued over 50 billion roubles, in all sectors, Putin's approval would be required.
