EkoNiva transfers to Russian jurisdiction
MOSCOW. Dec 23 (Interfax) - EkoNiva Group, a leading producer of raw milk in Russia, has transferred to Russian jurisdiction.
The group said in a press release that the operating business and all assets located exclusively on Russian territory have passed to the control of a company also located in Russian jurisdiction. The previous parent company, Germany's Ekosem-Agrar AG, sold all its stakes in Russian operating divisions, as planned, to the Russian buyer EkoNiva LLC. The relevant agreements were signed last week, and the stakes have been paid for.
The core owners of EkoNiva LLC are the shareholders of Ekosem-Agrar AG, led by EkoNiva's founder and president, Stefan Durr, who is a Russian citizen.
"Global geopolitical instability has significantly complicated the group's activity as a Russian-German entity, making this virtually impossible, and necessitated the consolidation both of the operating units located in Russian jurisdiction and of the holding company itself," the press release says. "The completed sale ensures that operating activity and the group's very existence can continue," it said.
"Also thanks to the deal, the restructuring of two issues of the German company's corporate bonds, which received the consent of their holders in June, can now be fully implemented. The 2012/2027 (ISIN: DE00 0A1R0RZ5) and 2019/2029 (ISIN: DE000A2YNR08) series bonds will be bought back by a special purpose vehicle at 300 euros per bond.
The company said more time, possibly several weeks, would be needed to complete the bond transaction. The company will make a prompt announcement once the bond sale has closed.
EkoNiva was founded in 1994 by businessman Stefan Durr. It manages assets in 13 regions across Russia, namely the Voronezh, Kaluga, Kursk, Leningrad, Moscow, Novosibirsk, Orenburg, Ryazan, Samara, and Tyumen regions, as well as Altai Territory, Bashkortostan and Tatarstan. The group's main dairy division comprises 42 modern livestock farms. EkoNiva produced about 1.26 million tonnes of raw milk in 2023. The group has been developing milk processing at four sites since 2013.
The group's businesses are engaged in pedigree and beef cattle breeding, seed production, crop production and organic agriculture. The holding is one of the five largest owners of agricultural land with 632,400 hectares.
