VTB exits Demetra Holding's capital, sells stake at 'decent margin' - Kostin

ST. PETERSBURG. July 6 (Interfax) - VTB has exited the capital of Demetra Holding, having sold its stake at a "decent margin", VTB President and Board Chairman Andrei Kostin told Interfax on the sidelines of the Financial Congress of the Bank of Russia.

"We have exited the grain business. We had a stake in Demetra Holding below controlling at around 45%. We sold it [the stake]. The deal was closed the other day. I cannot name the buyer, as it has the right to announce itself. The price was objective, and the margin was decent," Kostin said.

Demetra Holding combines export logistics and trading assets. The holding includes Russia's largest grain terminals of Novorossiysk Grain Terminal (100%); Novorossiysk Grain Plant (35.36%); and the Taman grain terminal complex (50%). The holding owns 50% minus 1 share in JSC United Grain Company; 100% of the railway operators Rusagrotrans, LP Trans, Freight Company, and TransLes; as well as 100% of the pole.rf marketplace for agricultural business, and over a 75% stake in Smartseeds, which is a digital platform for grain transportation in Russia. Moreover, the holding owns 100% of the shares of the Demetra Trading grain trader, Oktyabrsky Elevator, Ipatovsky Grain Processing Plant, and Dishninsky Elevator.