Roman Trotsenko's Novaport is expanding the airport business: the holding acquired the Baikal airport in Ulan-Ude, which belonged to Mikhail Slipenchuk since 2011. Terms of the transaction the parties have not commented. Novaport has already bought several airports in the regional centers of Siberia and is now considered one of the main contenders for the airport of neighboring Irkutsk.

Novaport Holding Romana Trotsenko purchased the Baikal airport from the investment company Metropol in the capital of Buryatia, Ulan-Ude, the press service of the seller said. Metropol President Mikhail Slipenchuk said that the company "took a difficult decision to sell in the midst of an economic crisis." The main reason for the sale, Mr. Slipenchuk, is that the airport is a non-core asset for Metropol, and its task now is to increase the presence of the Group of Companies in such investment areas as development, construction, mining, tourism. The parties do not disclose the terms and amount of the transaction. Mikhail Slipenchuk expects that Novaport will "significantly improve the quality of service at the airport, increase the number of airlines and destinations, reduce fuel costs and management costs, and thus create conditions for affordable prices for air tickets."

Information that the Metropol is looking for a buyer for the Baikal airport began to appear immediately after the asset was acquired in 2011 from the Austrian Meinl Airports International Fund for $ 5 million. In 2007, the Austrians paid for it to the previous owner - the structures of the co-owner of the AiRUnion alliance Boris Abramovich - $ 24 million Experts noted that the Metropol can resell the asset to a profile investor, but did not exclude that the airport in Buryatia is interesting to the company itself, as it builds tourist facilities in the region and holds licenses for the development of deposits.

Novaport has already purchased several airports in Siberia with a passenger flow of up to 500 thousand people - in Chita, Kemerovo, Tomsk, Barnaul (the whole holding is managed by 13 airports). By the end of 2016, the passenger flow of the Baikal airport amounted to 243 thousand people. In the Metropol Group, Kommersant reported that since 2010, passenger traffic has increased by 45.4%, airplanes - by 50.6%, freight turnover - by 65%. "Since 2011, the airport has been reconstructed, new international flights have been launched to China, Mongolia, Thailand, Korea, and a duty-free shop has been opened. A new runway is being built, allowing all types of aircraft to be accepted, "the Metropol told Kommersant. In the development of the airport for these years invested about 130 million rubles.

According to Kartoteka.ru, by the end of 2015 the profit of LLC "Baikal Airport" was 57.4 million rubles. with a revenue of 299 million rubles. At the airport itself, the team was announced at the meeting about the change of the owner. The representatives of Novaport are expected to arrive there this week.

Novaport also shows interest in another major asset in the region - the airport of Irkutsk, located less than 500 km from Ulan-Ude. But the competition for this asset is planned to enter competitors - Basel Aero Oleg Deripaska and Airports of the Regions Viktor Vekselberg.