Report: Russian tycoon Rotenberg wants to buy 25% in Aeroflot

MOSCOW, Mar 10 (PRIME) -- Russian businessman Arkady Rotenberg, whose family has recently acquired a 68% stake in the Sheremetyevo airport and who owns large stakes in other key infrastructure assets, is seeking to buy a 25% stake in the country’s flagship air carrier Aeroflot, the Financial Times reported late Wednesday, citing three people familiar with the issue.

Two sources said that President Vladimir Putin knows about this ambition and is “sympathetic” with Rotenberg’s desire to privatize the air carrier.

“This is only logical,” a source said. “They own the terminal, they own the runway, so why shouldn’t they own the planes flying there?”

The government owns a 51% stake in Aeroflot through the Federal State Property Management Agency, and the National Settlement Depository holds 35%.

In February, the government announced a large-scale privatization plan to tap budget deficit due to low oil prices.

A person close to Aeroflot said that privatization of the company, which has a unique role in the economy, poses additional threats in the current economic crisis.

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