Natives of Chechnya got Danone factories in control
Milk rivers of Kadyrov’s relatives
French “Danone” and Danish “Carlsberg” lost their property in the Russian Federation – the companies “Danone Russia” and “Baltika”. It is clarified that we are not talking about the nationalization of assets – the property is transferred under the temporary management of the Federal Property Management Agency, and its safety should be ensured by the temporary manager. It is not really clear whether the Federal Property Management Agency will receive dividends from the work of companies – there are no precedents in this sense yet.
So the clear beneficiaries of the situation are new top managers who will be able to manage the financial flows of these giant businesses at their discretion.
Their names are already known. Dairy empire “Danone Russia” will be headed by the nephew of Ramzan Kadyrov, 32-year-old Yakub Zakriev. Until recently, he headed the Ministry of Agriculture of Chechnya.
Now Zakriev will have to manage a structure of 13 factories throughout Russia, which produce products under the popular brands Prostokvashino, Petmol, Rastishka, Tyoma, etc. Now it is a very successful business: according to the results of 2022, the revenue of Danone Russia JSC amounted to 92.8 billion rubles, net profit – 5.5 billion rubles.
Mmm Danone!
It seems that Danon’s managers just got confused in an attempt to sit on two chairs. At first, the company announced that it had no plans to leave Russia, then it talked about curtailing investment activity. At the beginning of this year, it became known that she was looking for buyers for her production, moreover, with a discount of $ 1 billion, but with the right to buy back. In addition, as they say, Danon still expected to retain a 25 percent blocking stake in the Russian subsidiary.
The head of Danone’s international division, Veronique Pencienati-Bosetta, explained the company’s position as follows: they say, a complete withdrawal from Russia will not force Moscow to curtail the NWO, instead, Danone’s assets will be confiscated and come under the control of the Russian administration, and all the benefits will go to new owners from Russia. As a result, the French did not leave Russia, but they still lost their property. Yes, we are not talking about a complete confiscation yet. Perhaps because the production of yoghurts relies heavily on ingredients that only a French company can supply. First of all, we are talking about patented strains of bifidobacteria present in the formulation of the widely advertised Activia.
After the appearance of the presidential decree on the transfer of Danone assets under temporary management, the rhetoric of the French remained restrained.
The company stated that it is preparing to take all necessary measures to protect its rights as a shareholder of Danone Russia and business continuity in the interests of all stakeholders, including employees. It is not clear, however, how the French are going to do this – now, in general, little depends on them. On their side, only well-established production and promoted brands are playing, capable of providing a stable demand for products. But the rest of the 7 thousand employees of Danone Russia will now have to rely on the new head of the company.
The biography of Yakub Zakriev in this sense looks indicative. Graduated from the Suvorov School and the Higher School of Public Audit of Moscow State University. At the age of 22, he became deputy head of the administration of the head and government of the Chechen Republic, then worked as manager of the affairs of the head and government of Chechnya, head of the secretariat of the head of the republic, first deputy chairman of the government of the Chechen Republic, mayor of Grozny. Such experience will certainly help keep the company’s billion-dollar turnover under control. Moreover, Zakriev will be assisted by colleagues from the new board of directors of Danone Russia.
The board of directors included Deputy Minister of Agriculture of Chechnya Ruslan Alisultanov (he became chairman of the board), close to the leadership of Chechnya, the son-in-law of the general director of the construction company PSO Kazan Yakov Khachanyan, as well as the beneficiary of the Vamin-Tatarstan cheese company Mintimer Mingazov and the director of the department Food and Processing Industry Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation Vladimir Skvortsov. Now they will have to demonstrate whether the Russians can successfully manage the business that the foreigners have built. If not, then you will either have to call the French back, or sell the plants to interested parties separately, which will require a complete confiscation. Although, it is quite possible that this is how it was intended.
Reference
Energy companies were the first to fall under the external control of the Federal Property Management Agency – the Finnish Fortum and the German Unipro. Now Poland is going to sell the “daughter” of NOVATEK, which is under compulsory control. What can be confiscated in response is not clear – there are no large Polish companies in Russia. Experts only remember the plumbing manufacturer Cersanit, which has reduced investment in Russian assets and intends to sell the business.
The Second Coming of Taimuraz Bolloev
Taimuraz Bolloev
As for the situation with the Baltika brewing company, the Danish holding Carlsberg is the donor here. At the end of 2022, Baltika received a net profit of almost 10 billion rubles, which is one and a half times higher than last year’s figures. For the Danish Carlsberg, she was the goose that laid the golden eggs. However, due to the political situation, the Danes nevertheless announced its sale. At the end of June, the company announced that it had already found a buyer. Officially, his name was not called, various interested parties appeared at the level of rumors. Including the Aqualife company, which controls the production of soft drinks “from Chernogolovka”.
The list of potential buyers of the Baltika breweries also included the Israeli CBC Group and the Belgian-Turkish AB InBev Efes. However, the presidential decree put an end to the failed deal. Now, Taimuraz Bolloev will be in charge of Baltika under the supervision of the Federal Property Management Agency.
Recently, Bolloev has been doing business in sectors far from beer. Associated with him, “BTK Group” sewed overalls under contracts from various government agencies. At the same time, BTK Development was building large facilities in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region. Bolloev also indirectly had a stake in the grain exporter Demetra Holding, created by VTB. He was also known as the head of the state corporation “Olympstroy” in 2009-2011.
However, for Baltika, he is also not a stranger. Taimuraz Bolloev, who created the judo club together with Vladimir Putin, came to work at a brewery in Leningrad back in the 1980s, and in the 90s, on the wave of privatization, he became the founder of the Baltika group of companies. True, back in 1992, when Bolloev was in charge of Baltika St. Petersburg, the Scandinavian brewing concern Baltic Beverages Holding (BBH) became the largest shareholder of the company – it was created specifically to invest in the beer industry in the countries of the former Soviet Union. Initially, the concern was a joint venture between the Danish Carlsberg and the British Scottish & Newcastle. But in 2008, the British went out of business, so the main owner of Baltika remained hzikhidtidekrt Carlsberg.
Could Baltika have production problems after a hard split from Carlsberg? Once upon a time, Russian factories imported malting barley, but in recent years, it has been grown by Russian farmers specially for Baltika. With hops, the situation is more complicated. The only Russian manufacturer covers only 2% of the needs of the brewing industry. The rest is still imported from Europe and the USA. It is clear that it is possible to grow any kind of hops in one season, however, brewers and consumers are accustomed to certain varieties that are not yet available in Russia. As well as equipment for processing this perishable product.
