ntitrust nods Yenisei Capital bid for 50% in TransContainer

MOSCOW, Aug 27 (PRIME) -- The Federal Antimonopoly Service has approved a bid of Yenisei Capital, affiliated with owners of U.K.-based mining giant Evraz, which operates mainly in Russia, to buy 50% plus two shares in container shipping company TransContainer from Russian Railways, the service’s Director Igor Artemyev told PRIME on Tuesday.

“The bid was filed by Yenisei Capital, a company of owners of Evraz, and we approved it,” he said, adding that the service did not receive bids for the stake from any other companies.

The service is ready to consider a bid of a company with no container assets.

“If there is a bid, and it is a company that owns containers and wants to buy TransContainer in addition to that, we will not approve it as it would be a step toward return of a monopoly to the market, while we need competition. But if a bid comes from a company like Evraz that has no containers, we will welcome it,” he said.

Russian Railways owns 50% plus two shares in TransContainer through United Transport and Logistics Company (UTLC) of Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan, and it plans to auction the stake on November 27. Yenisei Capital affiliated with co-owner of Evraz Alexander Abramov and tycoon Roman Abramovich holds 24.5051% in TransContainer and VTB Bank holds 24.8%.

Other companies that were interested in TransContainer besides Evraz include Freight One of tycoon Vladimir Lisin and Delo Group. The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) CEO Kirill Dmitriev said in April that the fund and Dubai port operator DP World were still interested in investing into TransContainer.

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