Forbes names Mikhail Fridman Russia’s top businessman in 2017

MOSCOW, Dec 21 (PRIME) -- Forbes has named tycoon Mikhail Fridman, founder of Alfa-Group and a core owner of Luxembourg’s LetterOne, as Russia’s businessman of the year in 2017, and Fridman has become the only businessman to receive the title twice, the magazine said in an article on its Web site on Thursday.

Fridman invested more than U.S. $5 billion in foreign companies in 2017, which is the largest sum among all Russian businessmen for the year, Forbes said.

LetterOne carried out two large deals this year: the holding bought British healthy food chain Holland & Barrett for 1.77 British pounds, or $2.3 billion, and invested $3 billion in a new fund of Pamplona Capital Management of Fridman’s former business partner Alexander Knaster.

The fund used the money to carry out a $4.5 billion deal to buy U.S. medical company Parexel in September and BakeMark, one of leading companies in the U.S. baking industry, in August, Forbes said.

In Russia, Fridman owns stakes in Alfa-Bank, retailer X5 Retail Group, and mobile operator VimpelCom.

End