19 Jan 2023 10:37

EDB exits Kamaz, 'returns' 3.7% stake to truck maker's subsidiary

MOSCOW. Jan 19 (Interfax) - The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) has divested its equity interest in Kamaz , "returning" the 3.72% stake to the Russian truck maker's subsidiary Financial Leasing Company Kamaz LLC (FLC Kamaz).

The EDB became a shareholder of Kamaz more than four years ago as part of an arrangement to finance a project to develop the company's model line. Kamaz said at the time that its subsidiary FLC Kamaz had sold a 3.72% stake (about 26.323 million shares) to the bank under a purchase-sale contract dated November 15, 2018. Kamaz's shares closed at 58 rubles on the Moscow Exchange on November 14, 2018, so the stake was worth 1.53 billion rubles at the time.

Commenting on the deal then, Kamaz said the EDB would be a strategic partner in the implementation of investment projects. The bank, in turn, said it provided "more than 9.5 billion rubles in financing [to Kamaz], including for the implementation of the investment program." It said the investment would go toward developing the K5 model line, the flagship truck line that came under sanctions pressure in 2022 due to its heavy reliance on imported components.

"In carrying out this deal, the EDB used the instruments of equity and bond financing, thus allowing Kamaz to build an optimal structure for raising funds," the bank said immediately after acquiring the stake in the company.

After the start of Russia's military operation in Ukraine, Kamaz was hit by sanctions by the European Union, United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Switzerland. In light of this, the company did not publish IFRS financial statements and its list of affiliates for the first half of 2022.

However, Kamaz reported in the shareholder capital section on its website on Wednesday that the 3.72% stake in the company was returned to FLC from the EDB in a sale that took place on July 12, 2022. Kamaz's shares closed at 89.80 rubles on the Moscow Exchange on July 11, 2022, so the stake was worth 2.36 billion rubles at the time.

The press services of the EDB and Kamaz are not commenting on the transaction.