Finland's YIT sells Russian construction business to Etalon

ST. PETERSBURG. May 31 (Interfax) - Finnish construction company YIT has completed the sale of its Russian business, YIT Russia to real estate developer Etalon Group, YIT said in a press release.

"We are very pleased to announce the completion of the sale. Our businesses in Russia were facing unprecedented challenges due to the crisis in Ukraine, and the sale of the businesses gave us an opportunity to a rapid, controlled, and complete exit. Now we can fully focus on our strategy and core businesses," YIT president and CEO Markku Moilanen was quoted as saying in the press release.

The closing process took longer than originally anticipated, but the sale was completed in line with the agreed sales price and other terms, YIT said.

It was reported last fall that YIT Group was considering selling its Russian business. In March, the company announced the suspension of investment in land parcels in Russia due to the situation in Ukraine, and it also stopped buying lumber in Russia.

Etalon Group's board of directors voted in April to acquire YIT's Russian business in a deal reported at the time to be worth 4.597 billion rubles.

Under the terms of the agreement, Etalon will acquire YIT Russia's land holdings, which include 19 projects at the planning and construction stages in Moscow and Moscow Region, St. Petersburg, Sverdlovsk Region, Kazan and Tyumen. The net sellable area of YIT Russia's portfolio is more than 0.6 million square meters.

YIT, which has been working in Russia since 1961, is a major player on the residential construction market in the country's Northwest Federal District. YIT Russia focuses on construction of residential real estate for the middle class, like Etalon Group.

Etalon sold 446,480 square meters of real estate in 2021.