PPF came out of hiding

Ingosstrakh has a new shareholder

The scandal surrounding the shareholders of Ingosstrakh , one of the largest Russian insurers, continued. Asset management company PPF Investments Group yesterday officially admitted that it owns 38.46% of Ingosstrakh shares and announced its disagreement with the actions of the insurer's main shareholder, the Basic Element holding. At the same time, PPF Group, which market participants continue to consider the true owner of this stake in the insurer, continues to insist that it has nothing to do with PPF Investments.

Yesterday, PPF Investments Group officially announced that it had acquired three Russian companies - Vega, New Capital, Investment Initiative, which together own 38.46% of Ingosstrakh shares. This deal has already been approved by the FAS. As stated in the company's official statement, the purchase of a stake in Ingosstrakh "is in line with the strategy of PPF Investments Group, aimed at strengthening its position in fast-growing markets." The new shareholders have already officially announced that they do not agree with the decision to increase Ingosstrakh’s capital, which was made on October 8 “due to a lack of procedural transparency and serious doubts about the validity and legality of the process.” At the same time, the chairman of the board of directors of PPF Investments, Tomasz Brzobogaty, said: “We are open to further discussion with Ingosstrakh shareholders regarding our participation in increasing the authorized capital in accordance with the requirements of the law and generally accepted standards of the international market, as well as on the basis of mutually beneficial interests.”

It is noteworthy that PPF Investments is abandoning family relations with the PPF group, to which, according to market participants, businessman Alexander Mamut sold a 38.46% stake in Ingosstrakh this spring. As PPF Group told Vremya Novostei, the group has no relation to PPF Investments Group. PPF Investments Group told the newspaper that they do not disclose their owners. The company's website states that PPF Investments Group has the right to use the brand of the Czech financial group PPF. But both structures are independent of each other. However, this statement did not convince market participants that, in the end, it is PPF Group, or more precisely, its main owner, businessman Peter Kellner, who ultimately owns a large block of shares.

As is known, the Czech group intends to go to court to challenge the additional issue of Ingosstrakh, since PPF did not take part in the meeting of shareholders. Yesterday, Interfax reported, citing a source in the PPF Group, that the group filed a claim with the Moscow Arbitration Court. As a PPF representative explained, the Czech group acts on behalf of three companies previously owned by Mr. Mamut. “We were not notified of the upcoming meeting of shareholders, which was held in absentia. Nevertheless, we filled out standard ballot forms in which we voted against the additional issue and sent them to the company. However, these documents were not taken into account when summing up the results of the meeting,” he added, recalling that a complaint had previously been sent to the Federal Financial Markets Service. The service confirmed the fact of its receipt last week. The court also reported yesterday that the claim had been filed. Ingosstrakh says that the company has not yet received any official documents.

Thus, the proceedings between the insurer’s shareholders, which began in the summer, continue with renewed vigor. Obviously, if the parties do not agree in the near future, they will have to sort things out in court.

Natalia ROMANOVA