Sweden's Ferronordic sells Russian business for 9.2 bln rubles

MOSCOW. Dec 30 (Interfax) - Ferronordic, a Swedish truck and construction equipment sales and service company, has sold its Russian business to local shareholders affiliated with leasing company GILK for 9.2 billion rubles.

The deal includes Ferronordic's main Russian subsidiaries Ferronordic Machines LLC, Ferronordic Torgoviy Dom LLC, Ferronordic Torgovaja Kompanija LLC and Ferronordic Arkhangelsk LLC, the company said in a press release. These companies will be able to use the Ferronordic brand in Russia for six months.

Ferronordic said it has used 1.6 billion rubles from the sale to repay debts to the former subsidiaries. The remainder of the purchase price has been transferred to Ferronordic's account in Austria.

"We are happy to have succeeded in completing this transaction. Despite extreme circumstances, we have managed to sell the Russian business at a price on par with the sold companies' net asset value and received the sales proceeds in Austria," Ferronordic CEO Lars Corneliusson was quoted as saying in the press release.

Ferronordic has an option to buy back stakes of up to 75.1% in the sold companies at a previously agreed price for seven years.

Ferronordic said that its main partners stopped sales to Russia earlier this year and in August Ferronordic agreed with Volvo CE and Sandvik to terminate their respective dealer agreements for Russia.

The sale is not expected to have any direct impact on Ferronordic's operations outside of Russia, the company said.

GILK said in a press release that Ferronordic's business in Russia includes more than 100 offices and 1,500 employees.