The assets of Stroygazconsulting have already become part of Gazstroyprom. And after Rotenberg’s company, Gazprom’s structure also plans to buy Stroytransneftegaz, where Gennady Timchenko owns 31.5% of Volga Group, RBC sources close to Gazprom, Gazstroyprom and Timchenko reported. Volga wants to sell the asset before the end of 2019, one of them said.
Gazprom returns the assets sold
Stroygazmontazh is not the only contract business Rotenberg bought from Gazprom, and now it is selling monopoly structures. Gazstroyprom also plans to buy out Gazprom Drilling, a major drilling contractor (now the company is controlled by Igor Arkady Rotenberg’s son). In 2011, Rothenberg Sr. bought an asset at auction for 4.05 billion rubles. The businessman invested 40 billion rubles in the development of the company, a spokesman for Gazprom Drilling told RBC. Since then, the company paid shareholders 25 billion rubles. dividends. The parties agreed to sell Gazprom Drilling for 58 billion rubles, sources told RBC.
Where can a businessman invest from a deal
Rotenberg plans to allocate funds from the sale of Stroygazmontazh to invest in Russia, his representative told RBC, but did not specify the details.
In 2019, Forbes estimated Rotenberg’s fortune at $ 2.6 billion, his interests are represented in various business areas: he controls Mostotrest (94.2%, a large infrastructure contractor, revenue in 2018 - 133 billion rubles), “Mineral Fertilizers ”(80%, revenue in 2018 - 33.6 billion rubles), and also owns 35% in TPS Avia, which controls Sheremetyevo International Airport, 50% of SMP Bank, etc.
In June, Rotenberg announced the creation of the largest infrastructure contractor in Russia with VEB. VEB's share in the enterprise will be 50%, another 50% - at Stroyproektholding (already controlled by a major contractor Mostotrest) Rotenberg. The partners plan to expand the competence of the new contractor to other areas of infrastructure construction - energy, ports and railways. The new company planned to diversify its business through the purchase of “the assets of the largest players in these industries” - the 1520 group of companies (one of the main construction contractors of Russian Railways), TEK-Mosenergo, owned by Igor Arkady Rotenberg’s son, Trust Hydromontazh (“daughter »" TEK-Mosenergo ") and others. A representative of Rotenberg on Thursday, November 7, refused to clarify whether the proceeds from the sale of Stroygazmontazh would be directed to a joint venture with VEB.
On November 5, VEB announced that it had issued a loan to Baltic Chemical Complex (BHC) for the construction of a gas chemical complex in Ust-Luga. BHC is the subsidiary of Rusgazdobycha owned by Artyom Obolensky, chairman of the board of directors of SMP Bank Arkady Rotenberg and his brother Boris. Until 2016, control at Rusgazdobycha belonged to Rotenberg, then he sold his stake to Obolensky, who became the sole shareholder of the company. BHC plans to build a $ 13 billion gas chemical complex in Ust-Lug. VEB’s head Igor Shuvalov said the bank approved a 111 billion rubles loan for the Ust-Lug project. The representative of Arkady Rotenberg told RBC that the businessman does not plan to invest funds from the sale of Stroygazmontazh to sell this gas chemical complex in Ust-Luga.
Rotenbergs can hardly be called classic businessmen, given the many contracts around government projects, says Advance Capital managing director Karen Dashyan. According to him, the Rotenbergs have made many commitments on major infrastructure and road concessions and are likely to send money from the sale of assets to Gazprom structures for these projects, and not to technological projects and the consumer sector.