Moscow-based company could become owner of two former Ukrainian-owned DTEK mines

ROSTOV-ON-DON. Jan 26 (Interfax) - A Moscow-based company called Best Solution could acquire 100% of the shares of JSC Donskoi Anthracite and JSC Obukhovskaya Mine Management in Rostov Region, currently owned by Cypriot Fabcell Ltd.

The Russian Presidential order to this effect was published on the portal of legal acts.

The order is to "allow JSC Best Solution to conduct the transactions required to acquire 100% of the shares of JSC Donskoi Anthracite and JSC Obukhovskaya Mine Management, owned by Fabcell Limited."

Ukrainian businessman Rinat Akhmetov's DTEK energy holding bought 100% of the shares of the Obukhovskaya and Donskoi Anthracite mines and 66.7% of Sulinanthracite LLC from Rostov Anthracite LLC in June 2012, for $39 million. These companies then merged with Donskoi Anthracite. Russia's Federal Antimonopoly Service approved an application from Cyprus-based Valleyton Investments Ltd. in August 2021 for the acquisition of control over the Russian DTEK assets.

The sole owner of Obukhovskaya Mine Management at the end of 2022 was Fabcell.

Deputy Rostov Region Governor Igor Sorokin told Interfax that Donskoi Anthracite had completed the merger of the Dalnyaya mine with the mothballed N410 mine at the beginning of 2022. Investments in the project totaled 1.5 billion rubles. There are plans to develop the coal reserves in the N410 mine following the completion by 2027 of all necessary preparations.

JSC Donskoi Anthracite's 2022 RAS revenue decreased 16% compared to 2021 to 2.366 billion rubles. However, the company earned a net profit of 6.418 million rubles against a loss of 101.104 million rubles the previous year.

JSC Obukhovskaya Mine Management had a RAS net loss of 7.807 billion rubles in 2022 versus 2 billion rubles of net profit in 2021. Receivables from the mines decreased from 10.396 billion rubles to 625.758 million rubles. The audit report said that the company had created a provision for high-risk debts, which included a 10.313 billion ruble debt from DTEK Trading SA.

JSC Best Solution was registered in Moscow in November 2022, its main activity being consulting on commercial activities and management. The company's charter capital is 4 billion rubles. The Unified State Register of Legal Entities shows that the company is owned by Orion-1 Specialized Financial Company LLC.