Uralkali

PJSC Uralkali, specializing in the production of potash fertilizers, today occupies one of the leading places in the largest world markets for mineral fertilizers.

Photo: www.smart-lab.ru

Aktivs

The Company's production assets include five mines and seven processing plants located in the cities of Berezniki and Solikamsk (Perm Territory). As of the end of 2023, the group's headcount was 22,144. The company's main production division employs about 11,000 employees. Shares of PJSC Uralkali are traded on the Moscow Exchange.

Information Technology

Main article: Information technology in Uralkali.

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 the Russian entrepreneur.

According to the press service of Uralkali, Dmitry Mazepin, who previously fully owned the company, sold a 52 percent stake to the chairman of the board of directors Dimitri Tatyanin (received 48%) and Dmitry Konyaev (4%), who headed Uralchem after Mazepin left the post of general director.

Dmitry Mazepin

Sources of Kommersant consider the transfer of control to two proven top managers a logical step, taking into account how many years they have 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 PJSC Uralkali in the current conditions, Uralkali said in a statement.

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

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

As of March 2022, Uralkali is one of the world's largest producers and exporters of potassium. The company has five mines and seven enrichment plants in the Perm Territory. Its main production unit 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]

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

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

An Interfax source familiar with the details of the deal said that Belarusian businessman Dmitry Lobyak became the buyer of Uralkali's 20% stake in ONEXIM. Lobyak owns the Minsk company Juras Oil, the official dealer of Uralchem in Belarus.

Kommersant reported that the transaction value was $2 billion^[2].

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

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

One would expect Uralkali to start paying good dividends to ONEXIM, but the potash fertilizer market unexpectedly caught up with a series of failures. Prices have since fallen almost twice, and in the coming years their significant recovery is not expected, said Konstantin Yuminov, senior analyst at Raiffeisenbank. In addition, in 2014, there was a failure at the largest Uralkali mine - Solikamsk, as a result of which the company lost about 18% of its production. The company ended 2014 with a loss of 33 billion rubles, and in 2015, although there was a profit, it had to be used to repair the mine and develop^[2].

2013

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

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

Earlier, the ONEXIM group (owned by Mikhail Prokhorov) announced the purchase of a 21.75% stake from Suleyman Kerimov. 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 was no obligation to issue an offer to minority shareholders and report to the FAS. ONEXIM and Uralchem similarly divided the purchased package into two parts. At the same time, in the aggregate, they own almost 50% of the company (and operational control), and there is no obligation to issue an offer to minority shareholders.

This is negative news for minority shareholders, but it was expected. Representatives of Uralchem announced their desire to maintain the current dividend policy. After closing 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 - the owner of Uralchem 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 Uralkali will probably resume cooperation with Belaruskali in the coming months.

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

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

See also

• Salt production (Russian market)

Notes