Report: Rostec in talks to sell Russian Helicopters to UAE firm

MOSCOW, Mar 11 (PRIME) -- Russian state industrial corporation Rostec is holding talks to sell a stake in Russian Helicopters to the United Arab Emirates-based Mubadala Development Company, Rostec CEO Sergei Chemezov said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal published Friday.

“With regard to Russian Helicopters, for example, we are holding discussions with Mubadala Development Co. in the United Arab Emirates. They are looking seriously at the possibility of buying a share, not 49%, but maybe 20% or 25%,” he said.

“For defense businesses, we received the right to sell up to 49% of the shares of the company to private investors, including possibly to foreign investors.”

Chemezov also said Rostec planned to sell its stake in Concern Radio-Electronic Technologies (KRET) by the end of this year, but was not considering any foreign investors. “For KRET, already a sufficient number of our own Russian investors have turned up,” he said.

Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov said Thursday that the government was considering the sale of an up to 49% in Russian Helicopters to a local strategic investor, or a 25% stake to a foreign investor.

Founded in 2007, Russian Helicopters is one of the world’s leading producers of civil and military helicopters. State defense holding Oboronprom, part of state-run industrial corporation Rostec, holds 98.5% in the producer.

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