Sogaz: in order to avoid sanctions, transformation of shareholder structure may continue
MOSCOW. Aug 19 (Interfax) - Russian insurance group Sogaz may continue transforming its shareholder structure in order to avoid running afoul of Ukraine-related sanctions, Sogaz CEO Sergei Ivanov said at a meeting with journalists on Tuesday.
Gazprom Gazoraspredeleniye closed the purchase of 16.2% in Sogaz on August 6. The two sides had spent a long time working out the deal, Ivanov said.
On August 13, the U.S. Treasury Department said sanctions would be applied against any entity in which individuals and corporations targeted by sanctions owned a combined 50% - rather than a single entity with a stake in excess of 50%.
Sogaz said on August 14 that it did not meet that definition. Its owners on that day were Abros (with 32.3% of shares), Kordex (12.5%), Gazprom Gazoraspredeleniye (16.22%), Accent (12.47%), Gazprom (3.77%), Sogaz-Realty (2.5%) Gazprombank (1.2% held in trust) and CJSC Gazprombank Asset Management (19.04% held in trust).
"We do not have the sense that application of sanctions against Sogaz is planned. We are not big enough to be of interest for the U.S. and EU. We are a lot smaller than many companies in the banking and industrial sectors," Ivanov said.
Sogaz could have run afoul of the 50% rule because until recently Abros, a wholly owned subsidiary of Bank Rossiya, which is the target of U.S. sanctions, was 51%. But after the imposition of those sanctions, Sogaz announced that Abros' stake had declined to 48.5%.
"We do not rule out that our capital will continue being transformed this year. A strategic investor might arrive at the company over the course of one or two years," Ivanov said. Sogaz has held legal consultations to determine the stake in the company held by Gazprombank. It was concluded that Gazprombank could not be viewed as a shareholder whose holding should be included in the total held by sanctioned entities, he said.
