RZ Agro Holding RZ Agro

On April 4, 2012, Sistema announced the formation of RZ Agro Holding Ltd. - a joint venture (JV) with RZ Agro Ltd., established in 2009 and affiliated with Sierentz Group. RZ Agro Ltd. and Sierentz Group are controlled by several members of the Louis-Dreyfus family.

As previously announced, AFK Sistema OJSC acquired in the Rostov region two farms for growing grain and oilseeds with a total land bank area of ​ ​ about 46 thousand hectares. These farms will be included in the joint venture as a contribution of JSC AFK Sistema. RZ Agro Ltd. will invest in the joint venture an existing agro-industrial holding, which includes the management company Russkaya Zemlya LLC and three farms in the Rostov region for growing grain and oilseeds with a total land bank area of ​ ​ about 41.5 thousand hectares.

If certain conditions are met by 2013, Sistema will own 50% of the share capital of the joint venture. The valuation of assets under the transaction can be adjusted depending on the achievement of production indicators.

The completion of the transaction is due to the fulfillment of a number of conditions, including the fulfillment of certain transaction-related agreements and obtaining approval from the Federal Antimonopoly Service, which is expected in the second quarter of 2012.

strategy of the joint venture involves increasing the area of ​ ​ arable land through organic growth and strategic acquisitions in order to create a leading agricultural company in Russia. In the future, the joint venture will analyze the possibility of acquiring land plots in key grain-producing regions - in the south of Russia and in the Central Black Earth Region, which will create effective agricultural clusters with access to domestic and foreign markets, - said Mikhail Shamolin, President of AFK Sistema. "We are optimistic about cooperation with our JV partner, who can bring modern agro-industrial and management technologies to the business."

"We firmly believe in the success of RZ Agro Holding," said Gérard Louis-Dreyfus and Peter Mann, representatives of shareholders of RZ Agro Ltd. "The grain production sector in Russia has great potential due to the low cost and unique geographical location of Russia, as well as taking into account the growth in the size and standard of living of the population in the world."

"The creation of the joint venture will significantly increase our ability to consolidate the best arable land into regional agricultural clusters, as well as increase production efficiency through a combination of transparent corporate structure, management professionalism, cost reduction and increased investment in modern technologies and equipment," said Stéphane Mac Farlane, CEO of Russian Earth.

History

2025: Transition under the control of the Steppe agricultural holding

March 16, 2025 it became known that the agricultural holding Steppe"" part of AFK System"" received control over the companies of the French family Louis-Dreyfus in. Russia We are talking about the enterprise "RZ Agro," the main legal entity of which is LLC "Russian Land."

According to Interfax, earlier the RZ Agro company, specializing in the cultivation of agricultural land and the organization of large grain production, was jointly controlled by the Steppe and members of the Louis-Dreyfus family. The latter, as part of the transaction, the value of which is not officially disclosed, left the structure of the enterprise. Market participants believe that the cost of land transferred to the agricultural holding is from 150 to 200 thousand rubles per hectare, depending on the location. It is known that the deal passed at a significant discount.

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Фото: Freepik

It is logical that "Steppe" took into its own hands "RZ Agro," it was expected. The deal was closed some time ago, now management has changed in the company. "Divorce" with French partners occurred amicably, - informed persons told Interfax.

Since March 14, 2025, Boris Shividov, who previously headed RZ Agro, has been the general director of Russkaya Zemlya LLC. In these posts, Shividov was replaced by Stefan Mac Farlan, who has been the general director of RZ Agro since 2017, and Russian Land since 2018. In addition, Shividov is a member of the boards of directors of several companies included in the Steppe agricultural holding. Among them are Novoplastunskoye JSC, Kuban Steppe JSC and Danilchenko V.I. Hero of the Great Patriotic War JSC: these farms are engaged in the cultivation of grain crops. In turn, RZ Agro invests in grain-producing enterprises, as well as provides services for the management of agricultural assets, field work, storage and transportation of agricultural products.^[1]

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