As it became known to Kommersant, the Don-Agro group of Nikolay Olshansky sold Miratorg its only asset outside the Voronezh region - the large potato-growing farm Bryansk-Agro.
Mr. Olshansky did not speak about the reasons for the sale. But a few years ago, acquiring an asset, he announced his intentions to develop livestock farming in the Bryansk land, to attract specialists, building houses for them. The plans remained unfulfilled. Miratorg, who bought Bryansk-Agro, additionally received 5 thousand hectares for cattle feed. Experts estimate the value of the transaction at several hundred million rubles.
Miratorg's production structure in the Bryansk Region Miratorg-Bryansk LLC filed a petition to the Federal Antimonopoly Service for the acquisition of 100% of Bryansk-Agro LLC at the end of August. Yesterday, Nikolai Olshansky told Kommersant that the deal has already been completed, and ownership is being registered. The businessman preferred not to disclose the amount of the transaction, only noting that it was “significantly less” than a billion rubles.
For the first time, a possible sale of the company became known in November 2018. Then Mr. Olshansky told Kommersant that he was ready to consider Bryansk-Agro purchase offers without explaining the reasons for the sale. Miratorg is already working in the Kletnyansky district, where Bryansk-Agro grows potatoes: there are holding farms for cattle growing, which are part of the company's interregional project for the production of beef. The company plans to expand the herd (by 2020 the number of cattle should grow to 1 million heads) and at the same time increases the area under fodder crops (primarily corn and perennial grasses). Miratorg did not respond to a request from Kommersant-Chernozemye.
The new farm can increase the Miratorg land bank by another 5 thousand hectares. Bryansk-Agro is one of the largest potato producers in the Bryansk region and the largest agricultural producer in the Kletnyansky district. According to the company's own data, it was created from scratch in 2008. Potatoes (about 500 hectares) and grain crops are grown in the fields. The company also owns a complex for storage, dry cleaning and packaging of potatoes, which allows you to produce it "in any package" and ship it throughout the year. Among the tasks of "Bryansk-Agro" it was previously indicated an increase in the cultivated area for potatoes up to 1,2 thousand hectares (of which 200 hectares are irrigated), expansion of the presence in retail chains, the introduction of commercial potatoes of premium class and borsch group on sale - carrots , beets and cabbage. According to Kartoteka.ru, the company's revenue in 2018 amounted to 108,6 million rubles. (127 million rubles in 2017), loss - 12,4 million rubles. (88,4 million rubles a year earlier).
Now Don-Agro will have assets only in the Voronezh region. The group is engaged in dairy farming (produces about 5% of milk in the region), crop production, milk processing, growing seedlings, vegetables and fruits. According to Kartoteka.ru, Don-Agro gained control over Bryansk-Agro in 2012. Prior to that, the company was wholly owned by the deputy of the Bryansk Regional Duma Vyacheslav Nikiforov. At the same time, full control was not obtained immediately: until June 2018, the current deputy head of the Ministry of Agriculture Elena Fastova, who then worked as an independent consultant for the management of agricultural projects, was the co-owner of the crop company (30%) (it was in June 2018 that she moved to the ministry).
Earlier, Mr. Olshansky spoke of larger-scale plans for the development of the Bryansk economy. In 2012, after the acquisition of Bryansk-Agro, during a joint visit to Kletnyansky district with Governor Nikolai Denin, he noted: “Our goal is not to sow 500 hectares of potatoes, but to create a powerful integrated crop in the future household. We will be engaged in crop production, create a decent fodder base, and develop livestock farming. To attract highly qualified specialists, we are ready to build housing. We have come to the land of Kletnyansk in earnest and for a long time. ” But cattle breeding was never created.
Anastasia Vladimirova, partner in the consulting department of Walter Construction, believes that the cost of Bryansk-Agro may fluctuate at the level of 450-600 million rubles. “If Miratorg plans to grow not potatoes, but fodder crops for its cattle, then in the course of negotiations it could get a discount, arguing that it only needs land,” the expert believes. According to her, it would be beneficial for Miratorg to use part of the area for harvesting potatoes, thus preserving the team and profitable processing and packaging equipment.
Anna Shlapakova, director of Euroexpert's valuation department, believes that the value of the asset may even exceed 600 million rubles. Due to logistics, the transaction will be beneficial to both parties, the expert emphasizes.