Putin approves sale of 25% stake held by Germany's Fraport in Pulkovo Airport to Orbit Aviation LLC

MOSCOW. Oct 25 (Interfax) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has approved the change of ownership of a 25% stake held by the German company Fraport AG in Holding VVSS LLC, the managing company of Pulkovo Airport's operator.

Orbit Aviation LLC has been authorized to acquire the stake, according to a presidential order. Other permissions or agreements stipulated by Russian legislation are not required to complete the deal, the presidential order said.

Information about Orbit Aviation LLC is not provided in the order.

Holding VVSS LLC was registered in December 2023. In the same month, 100% of the shares of VVSS, the operator of Pulkovo Airport, were transferred to the holding.

Prior to this, VVSS was owned by Cyprus-based Thalita Trading, whose largest stakeholders as of 2010 - when a public-private partnership agreement was signed between VVSS, St. Petersburg and its company JSC Pulkovo Airport - were VTB Group (50%) and Germany's Fraport (35.5%). Subsequently, the ownership structure of Thalita Trading changed several times. In particular, Fraport sold part of its stake to Qatar's sovereign fund QIA in 2016, and in 2017 a consortium of investors including RDIF, Mubadala and Baring Vostok joined the company. As a result, at the end of 2021, VTB's stake in Thalita Trading was estimated at 25.01%, Fraport and RDIF and its co-investors had 25% each, and QIA had 24.99%. According to last year's VVSS report, VTB, Fraport and the Qatari fund remained in the company's capital, while the other participating companies were listed as Lovidius and Mevelida from Cyprus.

After the start of Russia's military operation in Ukraine, Fraport announced its intention to divest its stake in VVSS. The terms of its divestment would be determined by the end of 2023, VTB head Andrei Kostin said. This stake could later be sold, as it has attracted interest from both Russian and foreign investors, he said.

According to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, the shares of the main owners of Holding VVSS LLC generally correspond to their shares in Thalita Trading.