Duty-free shop operator Dufry acquired from Regstaer Group a 51% stake in the company that operates the retail chain at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport.

The annual revenue of the acquired business (9 stores with a total area of 1200 sq. m) exceeds $50 million, Dufry said in a press release . The transaction amount is not disclosed.

Under the terms of the agreement, Dufry also receives the right to jointly manage stores at Vnukovo Airport with Regstaer.

Dufry already has its own network in Sheremetyevo and Domodedovo. Regstaer stores will successfully complement them, the company hopes.

This is not the first major transaction in the duty-free market at Russian airports in recent years, Interfax notes . About a year ago, Aeroflot bought a 33.3% stake in Aerofirst CJSC (which owns stores in Sheremetyevo, where the largest Russian carrier is based) for $16.4 million, increasing its stake to 66.6%.

Based on the purchase price (excluding a possible control premium), the retailer, 33% of which is owned by Ireland's Aer Rianta International, was valued at approximately $50 million.

In the spring, Aer Rianta, which was a duty-free pioneer back in the USSR, sold its own Runway stores in Domodedovo and Vnukovo to the Russian Duty Free Holding Group (DFHG) for an undisclosed sum. In addition to three capital airports, DFHG is also represented in Novosibirsk, Sochi and St. Petersburg.

Duty-free operator Dufry bought a duty-free network in Sheremetyevo