The following transactions have been approved: On the purchase of Veropharm and Lance-pharm enterprises by the Netherlands-based company Abbott Healthcare Products BV; On the purchase of GEA Mashimpex by German company Blitz F14-206 GmbH; On the purchase of Lafarge Cement by Holcim Ltd.
Excerpts from Dmitry Medvedev’s introductory remarks and briefing by Igor Artemyev, Head of the Federal Anti-Monopoly Service:
Meeting of the Government Commission on Monitoring Foreign Investment
Dmitry Medvedev: We have a traditional agenda that includes the requests of foreign investors concerning transactions with the shares of strategic Russian companies. We are talking about the pharmaceutical sector, nuclear power engineering and dual-purpose industrial materials. We will have to adopt agreed-upon decisions on every transaction bearing in mind to what extent these decisions meet the security interests of the Russian Federation.
Our stance remains the same: Regardless of current political conflicts and problems in international relations, we are interested in the arrival of serious foreign investors, including in areas which are listed among strategic sectors under Russian legislation. We welcome investors who are ready to work under long-term contracts for the manufacture high-tech and competitive products.
Dmitry Medvedev: "We have a traditional agenda that includes the requests of foreign investors concerning transactions with the shares of strategic Russian companies. We are talking about the pharmaceutical sector, nuclear power engineering and dual-purpose industrial materials."
Therefore, we are upgrading legislation that covers monitoring foreign investment. A number of decisions are now being made even without prior consent. Nevertheless, some important transactions require an agreed-upon decision.
<…>
Igor Artemyev: Today, we have reviewed several interesting transactions, and the government commission has approved all of them.
There were three major transactions. The first, a $650 million transaction, deals with the purchase of Russia’s Veropharm shareholding company, which manufactures a number of highly important cancer treatment medications, by US-controlled Abbott Healthcare Products BV. The above-mentioned sum denotes the value of Veropharm and its subsidiaries, and an additional $250 million will be spent on building new production facilities and production-localisation projects. This will make it possible to create 1,500 jobs in Russia. The transaction for full control of the company will be closed in the near future. This is a good example to demonstrate that, despite the rather complicated international situation, investors continue to find successful and truly cost-effective Russian companies and to purchase them.
The second approved transaction involves the purchase by the major German company Blitz F14-206 GmbH of Germany’s HX Holding GmbH. The latter owns Russia’s GEA Mashimpex LLC., which is licensed to design and manufacture equipment for nuclear power stations. The book value of this company’s assets is about 800 million Russian roubles, and their market value is much higher.
The third transaction concerns Switzerland’s Holcim company, a major global cement manufacturer. Holcim is purchasing Lafarge, which has been manufacturing cement for a long time, including in Russia. By purchasing Lafarge, Holcim will also acquire five companies owned by the former in Russia. The entire deal, which also includes the Russian companies, is worth 1.4 billion euros. At the same time, we are not afraid of monopolisation because strong Russian companies operate on the national market, and this will only increase competition. We are also counting on additional investment and on the introduction of new technology in this area.
Today, we have therefore approved transactions, concluded by companies from Switzerland, Germany and the United States, that is, from countries which have imposed sanctions against Russia. Nevertheless, investors continue to try and enter the Russian market, and, in our opinion, this is a very good sign.
<…>
