SG-Trans merges with majority shareholder; Sistema, Unirail now have 50-50 ownership
MOSCOW. Jan 20 (Interfax) - SG-Trans (SGT) has completed the merger with its majority shareholder, CJSC Financial Alliance, SGT said in a statement.
"The merger of the two companies on the basis of SGT and using the SG-Trans brand has formed a universal rail freight operator with a fleet of over 32,000 railcars," the statement says. The merger was carried out over the course of 2013.
Sistema acquired 100% of SG-Trans - Russia's largest rail operator of LPG tanker cars - from the government in mid-2012 for 22.7 billion rubles. Later Sistema and Unirail Holdings established 50-50 ownership of SGT through Financial Alliance. Now Financial Alliance owns 70% of SG Trans and Sistema and Unirail each still hold 15%.
LPG tankers now account for 52% of the fleet (over 16,000 units), oil product tankers account for 40% (about 13,000 units) and other railcar types account for 8%, the statement says. SGT's clients include Bashneft , Sibur, Sanors, Novatek , Tatneft , Rosneft , Lukoil and Gazprom Neft . SGT plans to diversify the fleet "with a focus on increasing the share of universal rolling stock (gondolas)," it says.
"Expansion of freight carriage into the CIS and the Baltic States will be an important area of operations for the medium-term," SGT said. Alongside the merger process last year, the company worked to diversify the client base, expand the geography of shipments and the range of the cargos carried.