The VTB group sold the shares of the Magnit retail network for 62.5 billion rubles less than six months after the purchase
VTB sold 11.82% of Magnit’s shares of the Marathon Group investment company Alexander Vinokurov
After the deal with the Marathon Group, the share of VTB in the authorized capital of Magnit decreased to 17.28%, the Bank’s press service reports. In February 2018, the VTB group bought 29.1% of Magnit's shares from the founder of the company Sergey Galitsky for 138 billion rubles.
“The decision of the VTB group on reducing its participation and partial sale of a share in Magnit’s capital is based on the totality of factors, including an acceptable risk profile of investments and the level of ownership sufficient to participate in the management of the company through the board of directors,” the VTB press release. -The VTB group entered the capital of Magnit in February 2018 and is still considering this acquisition as a long-term investment, planning to bring Magnit to a qualitatively new level of development. ”
Marathon Group said that the transaction is monetary, its own and borrowed funds were attracted to it, it was structured as a repo transaction. “For Marathon Group, this is a strategic investment. We initially declared our interest in projects in the retail sector, and glad to participate in the development of the largest Russian retailer, ”the president of the company Alexander Vinokurov . ““ Magnit ”is currently an underestimated asset, and we believe that with certain efforts on the part of management and shareholders of the network, it will be possible to return its fair value and first place among Russian retailers.” At the 2018 PEF-2018, he told reporters that he was lending to a deal, including VTB.
According to the Finam financial agency, VTB earned a part of Magnit’s shares. “If we compare the price of the acquisition of VTB of Magnit’s shares from Sergey Galitsky and their current market value, then the quotes on the exchange are 11%higher. Thus, if the deal with the Marathon Group was “in the market”, then VTB could earn 11%on it, ”the agency said.
For industry experts, the news about the sale of shares was a surprise. “The deal was carried out very quickly. There were no public discussions on the transaction. It seems to me that this efficiency is due to the fact that negotiations have been conducted for a long time, and I do not exclude that the rest of the shares can leave to other investors, ”says Infoline CEO. Ivan Fedyakov. According to him, when the company has many shareholders – this is rather a plus. It is in this situation that the company can make a balanced decision, rely on the resource of shareholders. “In previous years, it was one of the risks of Magnit that the company is concentrated in the same hands, and its development depends on one person. For such a large -scale business, this is a minus. All shareholders that are part of Magnit are quite specialized and professional investors, their competencies can help the company, ”he says.But the expert believes that such deals cannot be behind the scenes, they should be discussed publicly; “The way this deal started is the way it develops — without preliminary public discussions and justification, without an offer to shareholders. Such a decision-making system rather scares off shareholders. Still, in relations with investors it is necessary to rely on information openness. Although Magnit is still attractive to investors, because it has a great potential for capitalization growth. Now Magnit is in the lower phase of development, the company's capitalization is now approximately the same as it was when there were half as much retail space, this is not very logical even taking into account the revaluation earlier, the company is discounted very much.
President of the Russian Association of Retail Market Experts Andrey Karpov he also does not comment on the fact of the transaction, so as not to build associations with some government officials who have done the same with other companies. But he considers the splitting of a block of shares to be normal: “If we look at some foreign stories about public companies, then in most companies it is very difficult to find a shareholder who had more than 10% at a time. Therefore, this is an absolutely normal story for a public company. Through actions, among other things, additional competencies, additional people come.
The new shareholder Alexander Vinokurov himself, in an interview with RBC, said that the transactions were not simultaneous, and that he learned about the purchase of Magnit shares to the bank just like everyone else, but RIF-2018. According to him, the Marathon Group will participate in the management of Magnit through the board of directors and the meeting of shareholders in accordance with the share in the share capital.
Marathon Group is a company that invests mainly in the pharmaceutical industry, owns the pharmaceutical distributor SIA Group, the Mega Pharm pharmacy chain (A-Mega, Yes, Zdorov!, Azbuka Life), a manufacturer of medical drugs and products Synthesis, the plant Biocom, etc.
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