TransFin-M wants to buy co-owner of JV with TransMashHolding from TransGroup
MOSCOW. Aug 20 (Interfax) - LLC TransFin-M (TFM) is planning to consolidate 100% of Moscow-based LLC FestLine's charter capital, the Russian Federal Anti-Monopoly Service (FAS) said in a statement with regards to a petition it received on July 13.
"The FAS has decided to prolong the review period by two months in connection with the necessity of receiving additional information. The interested parties are entitled to present the anti-monopoly body with information on the deal's influence on the state of competition," it said.
According to Interfax's SPARK database, FestLine is one of the co-owners of LLC Integrated Car-Building Company (ICBC), which is a joint venture between CJSC Transmashholding (TMH) and TransCreditBank created to implement railcar-building projects. At the moment, TMK and TransCreditBank own 60% and 19% of the joint venture's charter capital, respectively. Last year, ICBC struck an agreement with Slovakian freight car producer Tatravagonka to sell it 50% of shares in OJSC TransMash (based in Engels in the Saratov region), which specializes in producing platforms for container shipments.
ICBC does not currently figure among TransMash's shareholders. However, among its shareholders is a structure of one of TMH's owners, TransGroup, which simultaneously is a co-owner of ICBC - LLC EvroMes (Moscow). EvroMes owns 3.8% of ICBC's charter capital, and FestLine owns 7.5%. FestLine itself belongs to Cyprus-based Magifix Ltd, and earlier it also owned TransGroup.
Interfax was unable to obtain comment from THB regarding the transaction. "The company has declined to comment on this issue," a company representative said.
The SPARK database indicates that FestLine's main profile is "activity in the photography sphere," whereas the FAS statement indicates that it is engaged in "foundry production."
TFM leases railway transport and produces equipment, special machinery and automobile transport. The non-state pension fund Blagosostoyanie, which is controlled by OJSC Russian Railways (RZD), owns 51% of its charter capital, and CJSC Stable Investments (according to SPARK, all of its shares belong to VTB Bank ) owns 49%.
Recently, the plans of another leasing operator were made known, the co-owner of which is Blagosostoyanie - OJSC RusRailLeasing - which is going to absorb TFM.
TMH, Russia's largest producer of rolling stock for railways and subways, has plants in St. Petersburg, Bryansk, Penza, and the Moscow, Rostov and Tver regions. RZD and France's Alstom each own 25% plus one share in the company, and the remaining shares are owned by businessmen Iskander Makhmudov and Andrei Bokarev, as well as divisions of TransGroup.