S.P.I. Group

Activity

The main brands of the company are Stolichnaya, Moskovskaya, Kremlevskaya, Treasury and Riga Black Balm. Today, the group owns more than 130 brands of alcoholic beverages. S.P.I. Group products are sold in more than 120 countries, while Stolichnaya and Moskovskaya brands are not sold in Russia.

The S.P.I. Group provides a full production cycle, owning several distilleries, alcohol production, and independently growing grain to produce alcohol. The companies belong to: distillery of JSC SPI-RVVK (Kaliningrad), JSC Latviyas Balsams (Riga), alcohol enterprise OJSC TALVIS (Tambov), OJSC Kedr (Irkutsk).

The group's annual sales exceed 100 million liters of alcohol. In 2004, the company's alcohol sales amounted to $3.59 billion, Stolichnaya accounted for $2.04 billion, thus it was the third most popular vodka brand in the world after Smirnoff and Absolut.

History

2024: Nationalization of assets

On July 24, 2024, the Tambov District Court ruled to apply to the state income assets belonging to the alcohol holding SPI Group of Russian businessman Yuri Shefler. The court satisfied the claim of the Prosecutor General's Office of Russia, recognizing Shefler and the companies controlled by him as an extremist association with a ban on their activities in the country.

According to Forbes, we are talking about the seizure of shares of Amber Talvis JSC in the Tambov region, SPI- RVVK JSC in the Kaliningrad region, as well as shares in the authorized capital of the Kaliningrad RVVK LLC. The trial was held behind closed doors, and the decision is subject to immediate execution.

Forbes

According to the financial statements, 72.9% of Amber Talvis JSC belonged to the Luxembourg company Amber Beverage Group Holdings, the beneficiary of which is Yuri Shefler. The remaining shares are distributed between Rosspirtprom (25.5%) and unnamed individuals.

Yuri Shefler, who ranks 22nd in the Forbes ranking of Russian billionaires with a fortune of $1.6 billion by 2024, is known as the owner of the Moskovskaya and Stolichnaya vodka brands. His conflict with the Russian authorities began back in 2002, when the Accounts Chamber declared the privatization of Soyuzplodoimport illegal.

A Forbes law enforcement source explained that Shefler is accused of encouraging shelling of Russian territories by the Ukrainian army. In addition, the companies controlled by him Amber Beverage Group Holdings and Stoli Group allegedly held shares for material support of Kyiv.

In 2002, a criminal case was opened against Shefler under the article on the illegal use of a trademark and the threat of murder was imposed on the head of the new FKP Soyuzplodoimport Vladimir Loginov. In July 2022, the businessman left Russia.^[1]

2006

S.P.I. Group began to form in 1997 on the basis of Soyuzplodimport CJSC.

In 2005, S.P.I. Group and Pernod Ricard (the world's largest distributor of alcoholic beverages) signed a global long-term agreement granting Pernod Ricard the exclusive right to sell Stolichnaya vodka in most countries of the world.

In 2006, a joint venture, Tenute di Toscana, was formed in partnership with Italy's oldest wine house, Marchesi de 'Frescobaldi, and renowned California winemaker Michael Mondavi, by the S.P.I. group, comprising three prestigious wine estates producing the famous high-end wines.

In the summer of 2006, the group made another serious acquisition: S.P.I. Group became the owner of the largest alcohol production enterprise in the Ural region - OJSC Permalko.

Notes