4 May 2010 17:19

Razgulay shareholders elect four new directors to seven-member board

MOSCOW. May 4 (Interfax) - Shareholders in agribusiness holding Razgulay have elected four new directors to the seven-member board.

The number of independent directors on the board has doubled to four.

The four new members, elected at an ESM on Friday, are CFO Andrei Polyakov, Vnesheconombank (VEB) representative Alexei Buntyakov, Vanguard Asset Management board chairman Rustem Mirgalimov and Russkye Fondy deputy general director Dmitry Shteinsapir.

Three directors were re-elected: President Igor Potapenko, General Director Dmitry Tyukhtenko and VEB representative Ilgiz Valitov.

The election of the new board is aimed primarily at raising company transparency, Tyukhtenko said previously. Razgulay officials held five seats on the previous board. There were two independent directors.

Razgulay Group, formed in 1992, has four divisions: grain, sugar, farming and retail (Razgulay Market LLC). Razgulay has 36 enterprises, including 12 sugar refineries and a dairy canning plant. The company has land holdings in 18 Russian regions.

Revenue fell to 30.2 billion rubles in 2009 from 36.4 billion rubles in 2008. Operating EBITDA rose to 3.1 billion rubles from 2.6 billion rubles.

Razgulay raised $144 million in an IPO in March 2006. It raised another $66.5 million in an SPO in November 2007. Shareholders exercising preemptive rights purchased 87% of the supplementary shares.

Potapenko is the chief beneficiary.

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