Berezkin Grigory Viktorovich

Berezkin Grigory Viktorovich

Berezkin Grigory Viktorovich is a private investor, owner of the ESN group of companies. Candidate of chemical sciences.

Assets

As of April 2017, ESN owns:

• two oil terminals (Uyar and Skovorodino),
• 50.5% of the energy trader Rusenergosbyt (the main consumer is Russian Railways),
• controls Rusenergoresurs (an electricity supplier for Transneft).

In 2017, he acquired a 65% stake in RBC media holding.

In December 2017, Maxim Vasyukov, general director and editor-in-chief of Business Petersburg, sold 80% of the newspaper to Grigory Berezkin.

Biography

Born August 9, 1966 in Moscow, Russia.

1988 - graduated from the Chemistry Department of Moscow State University with a degree in Petrochemistry.

1991 - graduated from graduate school of Moscow State University.

1991-1994 - Junior Researcher at Moscow State University.

Grigory Berezkin began business in the 1990s with the processing of cables for oil submersible pumps.

1992 - together with Alexander Mamut and Vladimir Gruzdev, he established the Slavyanka company on the basis of store No. 2 of the Oktyabrsky ORPO, which became the basis of the future Seventh Continent supermarket chain.

1993 - defended his thesis. Candidate of chemical sciences.

1993 - after he began to engage in oil trade, he met Roman Abramovich, who was engaged in the supply of petroleum products from the Komi Republic^[1].

1994 - Deputy General Director of Kominefti and at the same time its General Representative in Moscow. At the same time, he led the Mesco company, a joint venture between Kominefti and RAO International Economic Cooperation, which at the same time was one of the key shareholders of Cominefti.

1994 - on the basis of Kominefti, Ukhta refinery and Kominefteproduct, the KomiTEK holding was created.

1995 - ran as an independent candidate for deputy of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation.

1996-1997 - General Director of Komi TEK-Moscow CJSC (sales structure of KomiTEK), which, on behalf of Sibneft, exported Noyabrskneftegaz oil.

1997 - Chairman of the Board of Directors of OJSC KomiTEK Oil Company.

1997 - acquired Euroseverneft (38%) and SB-Trust (29%), providing guarantees to the National Reserve Bank ( NRB).

1997-1999 - Chairman of the Board of Directors of Ukhtabank CJSC.

1998-1999 - Member of the Board of Directors of CJSC Nobel Oil.

1997-2000 - Chairman of the Board of CJSC Euroseverneft (ESN Group of Companies).

1998-2000 - Member of the Board of Directors of CJSC North Fuel and Energy Complex.

1999 - organized the sale of OJSC KomiTEK Oil Company to LUKOIL^[1].

1997-2000 - Chairman of the Board of CJSC Euroseverneft.

2000 - General Director of ESN-Energo LLC.

2000 - Member of the Board of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs.

In 2000, Berezkin tried to acquire shares of NTV, but in the end Gazprom-Media gained control of the media. ^[2].

In 2002, the state decided to strengthen control over the Yakut diamond mining concern ALROSA, but faced protest from local authorities. Grigory Berezkin tried to make money on this situation by starting negotiations on the acquisition of a 5% stake in ALROSA from the Fund for Social Guarantees to Military Personnel under the Government of Russia. In response, the Ministry of Property Relations decided to completely liquidate the fund. The dispute continued until the end of 2002 and was resolved in favor of the state after the personal intervention of Alexei Kudrin.

2003 - acquired a 5% stake in RAO UES of Russia.

2004 - resold 5% of the shares of RAO UES of Russia to Gazprom.

2004-2007 - Member of the Board of Directors of RAO UES of Russia^[3].

2006 - sold 49% of the company to Italian ENEL and more than 200 thousand customers, including system-forming corporations of Russia, small and medium enterprises, the population of^[4]

2006 - Chairman of the Board of Directors of the ESN Group of Companies.

At the beginning of 2007, Forbes magazine estimated Grigory Berezkin's fortune at $830 million.

In 2007, the ESN bought a controlling stake in the Komsomolskaya Pravda publishing house (ID). Later, in 2017, ID did not disclose the current structure of shareholders. Vladimir Sungorkin, general director and co-owner of Komsomolskaya Pravda, said only that for him Berezkin is always a shareholder. In 2016, Vedomosti sources said that the main shareholder of ID is the Baltic Media Group (owned by Oleg Rudnov's heirs), and Berezkin no longer manages this asset.

2008 - Member of the Bureau of the Board of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs.

2009 - acquired the shares of the TGK-14 energy company (enterprises are located in Transbaikalia)^[5].

2010 - Grigory ^[6] announced his intention to sell shares of the TGK-14 energy company^[6].

2010 - Member of the Board of Directors of Russian Railways, Chairman of the Commission on Electric Power at the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs^[7].

2010 - Chairman of the Commission on Electricity Industry at the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs.

In 2011, he took 119th place in the ranking of the Russian-language version of Forbes "The Richest Businessmen of Russia - 2011." Grigory Berezkin's fortune is estimated at $800 million ^[8].

In 2012, it takes 136th place in the ranking of the Russian-language version of Forbes "The richest businessmen of Russia - 2012"^[9]. For 2012, Grigory Berezkin's main assets included:

• oil and electricity industry (ESN Group of Companies).
• Rusenergoresurs LLC (100%);
• Rusenergosbyt LLC (51%);
• Rusenergosbyt M LLC (100%);
• Energopromsbyt LLC (49%);
• engineering companies "Engineering Center UES" and "Energoauditkontrol";
• oil terminals in Uyar (100%) and Skovorodino (50%);
• telecommunications company Rusenergotelecom (75%);
• Komsomolskaya Pravda Publishing House (85%), the Moscow Metro newspaper^[10] and Russian Railways Partner Publishing House (80%), the Energy Today magazine, ^[11]
• CJSC AVT Invest (100% of shares);
• "LDV press"^[12]

On June 16, 2017, it was announced that Grigory Berezkin bought a controlling stake in RBC media holding from Mikhail Prokhorov. ESN structures acquired a 65% stake in the media holding, representatives of Berezkin and Prokhorov refused to disclose the financial parameters of the transaction. Learn more about the deal here. Observers considered this deal as part of the partnership of Grigory Berezkin with Yuri Kovalchuk. Earlier, Gazeta.Ru sources called the "National Media Group" Yuri Kovalchuk the most likely buyer of the media holding.

The Moscow government bought the Metro newspaper from the ESN group, becoming its majority shareholder, Vedomosti was told. The ESN representative confirmed this to Kommersant, he does not disclose the amount and other details of the transaction. The deal to sell Metro was closed in November 2019, specified in the ESN.

Scandals

Rusenergosbyt LLC, owned by Grigory Berezkin, supplied Gazprom concern with electricity at a price 60% higher than the market value^[13]

Interesting facts

Grigory Berezkin owns a giant hangar in Moscow, where he stores dozens of retro cars and a trampoline, on which he sometimes likes to jump.

In the ranking of top leaders - 2010 newspaper Kommersant took 2nd place in the nomination "Fuel Complex"^[14].

Marital status

Married, four children^[1].

See also

• Smart, cunning, murky: Ilya Zhegulev tells the story of Grigory Berezkin

Notes