Rostec not considering sale of Astrakhan Port shares to Iranian majority shareholder

ASTRAKHAN. July 4 (Interfax) - Rostec is not considering selling shares in Astrakhan Port and maintains its development plans for the facility, the state corporation's press service said.

"In response to media reports, we state that Rostec corporation is not considering the sale of shares in Astrakhan Port and maintains its development plans for this transport hub as an important logistics node for the country along the North-South route," the press service said.

As reported, Nasim Bahr Kish (Iran, a subsidiary of Iranian state-owned company IRISL), which controls 53.07% of shares in PJSC Astrakhan Port, has submitted a mandatory buyout offer at a price of 37,800 rubles per share. The offer remains valid for 70 days. The Iranian company seeks to purchase 8,570 ordinary shares (46.34%) and 3,003 preferred shares (48.71%). The majority shareholder is thus prepared to allocate approximately 437.5 million rubles for the buyout.

Currently, Nasim Bahr Kish owns 9,923 ordinary shares (53.66%) and 3,162 preferred shares (51.29%) of the port.

According to the list of affiliated persons as of December 31, 2024, Nasim Bahr Kish owned 53.06% of the port's shares, while the Russian Federation represented by the Federal Property Agency (Rosimushchestvo) held 25.5%. There were also reports of plans to transfer the state-owned stake in Astrakhan Port to Rostec corporation to boost exports to India and Iran.

Astrakhan Port is one of the largest enterprises in the Astrakhan region's port system. The port handles all types of general and bulk cargo and containers, and also includes passenger terminals.

In 2024, the company increased its net profit to Russian Accounting Standards (RAS) 4.8-fold year-on-year to 208.3 million rubles.