New Globaltrans shareholder supports company's strategy, incl. redomiciliation to UAE

MOSCOW. Jan 15 (Interfax) - Kazakh businessman Kairat Itemgenov, the new major shareholder of Globaltrans Invest Plc who bought out the stakes of the Russian freight rail operator's three principal shareholders Nikita Mishin, Konstantin Nikolayev and Sergei Maltsev, supports the company's strategy, including the process of redomiciling in the United Arab Emirates, the company reported.

"This investment offers me a unique opportunity to both diversify into an attractive sector and acquire a significant holding in a business that has a proven operational model, excellent prospects, a prominent market position and a strong corporate governance framework," Itemgenov said in the press release.

Globaltrans began the process of changing the jurisdiction of its business from Cyprus to the Abu Dhabi Free Zone in August 2023, and the company had planned to complete it within six months.

Globaltrans said that Itemgenov has successfully developed his business in Kazakhstan over the last 25 years. His key businesses include Europharma, one of the largest pharmacy chains in Kazakhstan, several assets in the hotel industry, Satti Logistics, which operates a fleet of its own trucks and vans, and KBI Energy, a large specialized design and installation organization in the energy sector.

The Aqniet Capital LLP (Kazakhstan) investment company, of which Itemgenov is beneficiary, now indirectly owns 26.19% of the issued share capital of Globaltrans and subsequently plans to increase its share to 31.6%.

Globaltrans specializes in rail transportation of metallurgical cargo, petroleum products, construction materials and coal. The company was founded in 2004 by a group of like-minded entrepreneurs who united their freight rail transportation businesses under a single brand called Globaltrans. The Globaltrans fleet by the end of June 2023 included about 66,000 units of rolling stock. 94% of the fleet is company-owned.