Debt of Kemerovo holding is approaching $1 billion. To pay off the banks, SDS gets rid of both secondary and core coal assets
“Siberian Business Union” (SBD) of Mikhail Fedyaev # 177 and Vladimir Gridin # 181 have closed the sale of 100% of LLC “Sibenergougol”, announced today the Kemerovo holding. The buyer was Moscow-based Sibugol, established in 2017. 99% of the company is owned by Swiss Sib Coal AG, 1% – Sibugol CEO Artem Kazakov. He is the beneficiary of the company, two sources in the coal market told Forbes. One of the interlocutors specifies that he is a native of Kemerovo who used to deal with trading operations. Prior to the deal with SDS, Kazakov had no coal mining assets.
The cost of the deal SDS did not disclose. A year ago, Sib Trading AG, a Swiss company affiliated with Kazakov, posted on the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s website its intention to purchase Sibenergougol for $300 million. According to a source familiar with the terms of the deal, the final price was $220-250 million.
Sibugol has a production capacity of 2.2 million tons of coal a year, according to a report of SDS. It was the only enterprise in the Union that produces anthracite. The enterprise exports 80% of its output. The main consumers are China, Vietnam, South Korea and Japan. The purpose of the deal is to reduce the credit burden of the industry unit “SDS-Ugol”, indicates Kemerovo holding. According to a source close to SDS, the debt of the holding is not less than 50 billion rubles. Another source says that the credit load of SDS is about $1 billion, the main creditors – Sberbank and Gazprombank.
In 2000s, SDS actively purchased coal assets of Kuzbass on loans. But since 2011 the prices of coal have repeatedly made multi-year lows and the banks raised the rates, recalls one of the coal miners. As a result, SDS was forced to start selling off assets.
In 2016, SDS sold chemical producer SDS Azot to billionaire Roman Trotsenko #63 and 74% of UGMK European Media Group of Iskander Makhmudov #31 and partners. Before that, SDS got rid of the Kemerovo airport, the Novokuznetsk Distillery and reduced its stake in the transport company Novotrans.
Before the deal with Sibugol UD included six coal enterprises with the total output of 30 million tons. Soon the number of coal assets of the holding may be reduced to four. Now the holding is in negotiations with Konstantin Strukov #55, owner of Yuzhuralzoloto, on sale of Kiselevsky surface mine. At the same time, a source acquainted with the plans of the holding says that SDS is not giving up its coal business. The long-term development program of Chernigovsky surface mine, the main coal asset of SDS, provides for an increase in production from 6.5 million tons of coal to 9 million tons, Fedyaev shared his plans last year.
