Uralkali

OJSC Uralkali, specializing in the production of potash fertilizers, today occupies one of the leading places in the world's largest mineral fertilizer markets.

Photo: www.smart-lab.ru

Assets

The Company's production assets include five mines and seven enrichment plants located in the cities of Berezniki and Solikamsk (Perm Territory). The Company's main production division employs about 11,000 employees. Shares of PJSC Uralkali are traded on the Moscow Exchange.

History

2022: Dmitry Mazepin sold a controlling stake in Uralkali

As it became known on March 21, 2022, Dmitry Mazepin sold a controlling stake in Uralkali after the European Union imposed sanctions on a Russian entrepreneur.

According to the Uralkali press service, Dmitry Mazepin, who previously fully owned the company, sold a 52 percent stake to Chairman of the Board of Directors Dimitri Tatyana (received 48%) and Dmitry Konyaev (4%), who headed Uralkhim after Mazepin left the post of general director.

Dmitry Mazepin

Sources Kommersant consider the transfer of control to two proven top managers a logical step, taking into account how many years they worked in the company and how well they know it.

Stable fulfillment of its obligations to ensure uninterrupted supply of products to the company's customers, as well as obligations to creditors, is one of the most important priorities of Uralkali PJSC in the current conditions, Uralkali said in a statement.

Mazepin also no longer holds a position at Uralkhim, which is a direct shareholder of Uralkali, the press release emphasizes.

Dmitry Mazepin began to transfer control of his assets after March 9, 2022 was on the EU sanctions list with his son, former Formula 1 driver Nikita Mazepin. Prior to the introduction of restrictions, Forbes magazine estimated the businessman's fortune at $800 million.

As of March 2022, Uralkali is one of the world's largest potassium producers and exporters. The company has five mines and seven enrichment plants in the Perm Territory. Its main production division employs more than 12 thousand employees. After the imposition of sanctions against Dmitry Mazepin, the board of directors of Uralkali left foreign director Paul Ostling.^[1]

2018: New Chief information officer - Kirill Alifanov

In June 2018, as it became known to TAdviser, Kirill Alifanov was appointed to the post of Director of Information Technology of Uralkali. More details here.

2016: Lobyak buys 20% of the company from Prokhorov for $2 billion

In July 2016, RBC became aware that ONEXIMMihaila Prokhorova sold 20% of Uralkali. The buyers were structures close to the owner of Uralhim Dmitry Mazepin.

An Interfax source familiar with the details of the transaction said that the Belarusian businessman Dmitry Lobyak became the buyer of a 20% stake in Uralkali from ONEXIM. Lobyak owns the Minsk company Yuras Oil, the official dealer of Uralhim in Belarus.

Kommersant reported that the value of the transaction amounted to $2 billion^[2].

Prior to the transaction, Uralhim, controlled by Mazepin, owned 19.99% of the company, ONEXIM - 20%, and another 51.05% of the shares were on the balance sheet of the subsidiary of Uralkali-Technologiya (a quasi-Kazakh package, of which 12.61% were pledged to VTB Capital under the REPO transaction).

When in 2013 ONEXIM bought a stake in the company it was considered a find: its net profit in the previous five years in the amount of $4.5 billion, the share in the global export market of potash fertilizers reached 23%.

One would expect Uralkali to begin to pay good dividends to ONEXIM, but the potash fertilizer market unexpectedly overtook a series of failures. Prices have since fallen almost twice, and in the coming years they are not expected to recover significantly, said Konstantin Yuminov, senior analyst at Raiffeisenbank. In addition, in 2014, there was a failure at the largest Uralkali mine - Solikamsk, as a result, the company lost about 18% of production. The company finished 2014 with a loss of 33 billion rubles, and in 2015, although there was a profit, it had to be directed to the repair of the mine and the development^[2].

2013

Uralchem buys from Kerimov and his partners 20% of the company's shares

Uralchem announced in December 2013 details of the acquisition of a 20% stake in Uralkali. The buyer will be OHK Uralchem at the expense of its own and borrowed funds. For this purchase, a loan from the largest Russian bank (an opaque hint of Sberbank) will be raised on the security of the shares being purchased. Based on Uralkali's current market quotes, 20% of the package can be valued at $3 billion. But, as you know, Suleyman Kerimov and co-investors wanted to get a 20% premium on market quotes for their packages, so the price is likely to be $3.5-4 billion.

Earlier, the purchase of a 21.75% stake in Suleyman Kerimov was announced by the ONEXIM group (owned by Mikhail Prokhorov). ONEXIM and Uralchem declare that they operate independently, and these purchases are not interconnected. In our opinion, they are somewhat cunning. According to a similar scheme, Kerimov and his partners bought Uralkali from Dmitry Rybolovlev. As a result, Kerimov acquired about 25% of the company's shares, 7% each - Filaret Galchev and Anatoly Skurov. At the same time, none of this consortium owned more than 26% of the package, and, accordingly, there were no obligations to issue an offer to minority shareholders and report to the FAS. ONEXIM and Uralchem similarly split the purchased package into two parts. In total, they own almost 50% of the company (and operational control), and there are no obligations to issue an offer to minority shareholders.

This is negative news for minority shareholders, but it was expected. Representatives of Uralhim announced their desire to maintain the current dividend policy. After the closing of the transaction, we are waiting for news about the change in the board of directors of the company (it will include representatives of ONEXIM and Uralchem), as well as about the updated development strategy of the company. In our opinion, the change of ownership of Uralkali is positive for minority shareholders - Uralkhim owner Dmitry Mazepin has extensive experience in the mineral fertilizer sector and sees the prospects for the development of the company. Prokhorov has enough free money to invest in the development of the company. Mazepin is a citizen of Belarus, so it is likely that in the coming months Uralkali's cooperation with Belaruskali will be resumed.

Prokhorov buys from Kerimov 21.75% of shares for 137.5 billion rubles

In 2013, it became known about the purchase for 137.5 billion rubles of a 21.75% stake in Suleyman Kerimov was announced by the ONEXIM group owned by Mikhail Prokhorov.

See also

• Salt production (Russian market)

Notes