Russian jewelry company Sokolov sold to private investor Pak - paper

MOSCOW. Aug 14 (Interfax) - The beneficiary of Sokolov Group, Artyom Sokolov has sold the Russian jewelry company to private investor Anton Pak, national daily Kommersant reported on Thursday, citing sources.

The deal includes all the group's legal entities and trademarks, the sources said. Aspring Capital acted as financial advisor to the seller.

Kommersant reported Sokolov as saying that the company had been looking for an investor and considered carrying out an initial public offering. The "company never concealed its ambitions and the fact that continued growth that is faster than the market requires additional investment," he said.

Sokolov said he now intends to focus on his own projects and venture capital investments, as well as continue to support the Sokolov family's charitable foundation.

Artyom Sokolov took over the jewelry business in 2014 from his parents Yelena and Alexei Sokolov, who founded the company in 1993. The group started as a jewelry maker and later launched an eponymous retail chain, which had grown to about 1,000 stores by the beginning of 2025.

Pak confirmed the deal, saying that Sokolov will continue to develop in line with its current strategy under the current management team led by CEO Nikolai Polyakov, Kommersant said.

Pak, who was a co-owner of drug maker Nanolek until 2025, founded K2 Group, a private investment company that manages assets on the Russian market in 2019. In the 2000s, he served as a senior executive at Rosbank and MFK Bank, and then headed the North Caucasus Development Corporation, which was founded by state corporation VEB.