Tui's major Russian backer shuffles his shareholding
Gary NoakesRussia’s richest man has reshuffled part of his stake in Tui’s parent company as EU sanctions targeting high-value Russian individuals bite following the country’s invasion of Ukraine.
Alexey Mordashov’s Unifirm Ltd, which is Tui AG’s biggest shareholder, has transferred a 4.13% stake in the company to another of his brands, the Russian tech company Severgroup.
This means Unifirm’s stake in Tui AG drops to 29.9%, while Severgroup becomes Tui’s second largest named shareholder. At the same time, Mordashov has sold Unifirm to Ondero Ltd.
A Tui AG spokesperson said: “We do not know who the stakeholders/owners of Ondero Ltd are.”
However, Reuters reports Ondero is a company based in the British Virgin Islands, an offshore tax haven.
Mordashov, a steel tycoon, stepped down from Tui’s supervisory board last week.
He is among several wealthy Russians who are divesting or sheltering assets ahead of possible seizure because of a perceived closeness to Russia’s president Putin.
Reuters said Mordashov’s €65 million yacht was seized by Italian authorities on Friday.
Tui AG’s other shareholders include Rui Hotels, with 2.4%, while private investors hold 34.6% and institutions 29%.
Tui chief Fritz Joussen last week hailed Mordashov for "propping up" the business during the Covid crisis.
Mordashov has held shares in Tui for around 15 years, but upped his stake during the Covid crisis.
The group has stressed that two-thirds of its shareholders are from Germany, the EU, the UK and the US, or funds.
"We assume any restrictions or sanctions against Mr Mordashov will not have any lasting negative consequences for us as a company," said Joussen.
A second Russian member of Tui’s supervisory board, Vladimir Lukin, also quit his post last week.
Lukin was deputy chief executive of Severgroup, the private investment firm which manages Mordashov’s assets.
He has previously served on the supervisory board so far back as 1999, and was appointed to a vacant position in 2019 – with Tui noting his role as special advisor to Mordashov.
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