AGR Group closes deal to acquire Hyundai's assets in Russia
MOSCOW. Jan 26 (Interfax) - Art-Finance LLC, the parent company of Russia's AGR Automotive Group auto holding, has closed the deal to acquire a 100% stake in Hyundai's former local production subsidiary, Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Rus LLC, which unites the St. Petersburg-based production sites in Kamenka, which manufactured Hyundai and Kia models, and in Shushary, the former GM auto plant, the press service of AGR Automotive Group said in a statement.
As reported, Art-Finance LLC, headed by Andrei Pavlovich, former president of the Avilon dealership holding, was registered in Moscow in February last year. Art Finance in May bought the assets of the Russian representative office of Volkswagen Group Rus LLC, including an auto plant in Kaluga. It became known at the end of 2023 that Art Finance would acquire Hyundai's Russian auto plant, the St. Petersburg-based Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Rus LLC. The South Korean auto concern said that its board of directors had agreed upon the deal, noting that the details were under discussion.
"The procedure to acquire the assets of Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Rus LLC was completed on January 24, 2024, and all necessary information will be entered into the Unified State Registry of Legal Entities in the very near future," AGR said.
The Russian government's foreign investment oversight commission and the Federal Anti-monopoly Service (FAS) approved the deal, and AGR has not disclosed the conditions of the deal. South Korea's The Chosun Ilbo said that the deal price was approved at a symbolic 140,000 won, or approximately 10,000 rubles.
"The Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Rus plant will be renamed in the near future. The new name will be announced additionally upon completion of all its registration procedures. Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Rus has entered the AGR perimeter since completion of the deal," the holding said.
"The AGR Group intends to develop production actively in order to supply Russian customers with reliable, affordable and comfortable cars. We currently face many important tasks, though the main goal is to maintain personnel, as well as to ensure the proper use of their professional skills and expertise. The Russian government is actively supporting the automotive industry. We are confident that we will achieve good results in the industry with this support," company CEO Alexei Kalitsev was quoted as saying by the AGR press service.
AGR the other day announced Kalitsev's appointment as the holding's CEO as of January 23. Kalitsev has held senior positions at the Russian representative office of Hyundai, Hyundai Motor CIS LLC, since 2010, and has been responsible for the development strategy of the Hyundai and Genesis brands in Russia. He was managing director of the Russian subsidiary of the South Korean concern from 2017. Kalitsev is the current chairman of the Automobile Manufacturers Committee of the Association of European Businesses (AEB), and a member of the executive board of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP). Kalitsev has replaced Artyom Kursakov as CEO at AGR. Kursakov had worked at the entity of the Russian representative office of Volkswagen since the early 2010s.
AGR LLC, formerly Volkswagen Group Rus LLC, was the official importer and manufacturer of Volkswagen Group cars from 2003 to 2023. The company has changed its name as of June 2023, which was the first step in transforming and restarting the business following the transfer of VW's Russian assets to Art-Finance.