Grain trader Dostavka Morem buys stake in Taman grain terminal - paper

MOSCOW. April 3 (Interfax) - Dostavka Morem (formerly Daylesford Merchant), a major Russian exporter of agricultural products, has acquired a stake in Taman Grain Terminal Complex LLC (ZTKT).

The owner of Dostavka Morem, Ilya Kosykh has become the indirect owner of more than 25% of shares in ZTKT, national daily Kommersant reported on Wednesday, citing a market source. Kosykh probably acquired the stake of international trader Viterra, which along with Cargill and Louis Dreyfus announced it was halting grain exports from Russia as of July 2023, the source said.

Kosykh and Dostavka Morem CEO Natalia Tugaleva have also served on ZTKT's board of directors since last October, the terminal reported. At the same time, Viterra's former top executive in Russia, Dmitry Kondakov left the board. A company owned by Kondakov and his partners, Agribusiness Management LLC earlier bought grain exporter MZK Export and a terminal in Rostov with capacity to handle up to 1.5 million tonnes per year from Viterra.

Reporting on the disposal of its Russian business in its report for 2023, Viterra said it sold MZK Export, Rostovsky KHP and Antex+ to Agribusiness Management for $42 million, and that it sold its 50% stake in ZTKT for $40 million.

Viterra did not respond to questions, while Agribusiness Management declined to comment.

Tugaleva confirmed to Kommersant that Dostavka Morem acquired the stake in ZTKT on market terms. She said that for the company this is an opportunity to strengthen its position on the market and that the deal will make it possible to optimize processes in grain infrastructure, logistics and exports.

Dostavka Morem exported about 340,000 tonnes of grain in the first half of the current season (July-December 2023), making it the country's 12th largest grain exporter, Kommersant said, citing data from market participants. The company estimated that its revenue totaled $366 million last year.

The other 50% of ZTKT is owned by Demetra Holding, which also owns the Novorossiysk Grain Terminal and stakes in the Novorossiysk Grain Processing Plant (NKHP) and other companies.

ZTKT can handle up to 5.5 million tonnes of grain per year and store 192,000 tonnes at any one time. The complex has two berths that can accommodate Panamax and Postpanamax vessels.

Dostavka Morem closed 2023 with revenue up 60% to 29.1 billion rubles. The company increased exports by 80% to 1.162 million tonnes last year.