VTB Capital has invested in the pharmaceutical holding company Binnopharm Group, a subsidiary of Sistema.
Sistema Telecom Assets LLC sold a 11.2 per cent stake in Ristango Holding Limited, the owner of Binnopharm Group, to Nevsky Property Investments Limited, which is controlled by VTB Capital. The transaction value amounted to USD96 million (RUB7 billion).
As a result, Sistema’s effective share in Binnopharm Group, together with its financial partner VTB Bank, amounted to 75.3 per cent, with the remaining percentage shared between VTB Capital represented by Nevsky Property Investments Limited (11.2 per cent), a consortium of investors consisting of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), the Russian-Chinese Investment Fund created by RDIF and the China Investment Corporation, and major Middle Eastern funds (12.5 per cent). The remaining 1 per cent of Binnopharm Group shares belongs to a minority individual shareholder.
Yuri Soloviev, First Deputy President and Chairman of VTB Management Board, says: “The pharmaceutical industry is one of the most significant sectors of the economy in terms of the benefit to society. Over the course of 2020, its importance was clearly demonstrated in the fight against new challenges in healthcare and public health support. Binnopharm Group today plays a significant role in solving urgent health problems related to the pandemic.
“The company’s main focus is the fast-growing generic drugs production sector, which is interesting to us as a shareholder. We have a long-standing, mutually beneficial cooperation with Sistema and are jointly developing the group’s pharmaceutical business line. We see our role in financing both the company and innovation in the industry, and we are confident that VTB’s experience and expertise will allow the company to actively develop its business, reach new ambitious goals, all whilst providing attractive returns for shareholders.”
Vladimir Chirakhov, President of Sistema AFC, says: “We are pleased that our achievements in the development of Binnopharm Group as part of the strategy aimed at turning the holding into one of the leaders of the Russian pharmaceutical market were highly commended by VTB Group. Our cooperation within the pharmaceutical holding will continue, but in a new capacity for VTB Group, as a shareholder of Binnopharm Group. Sistema remains the main managing shareholder of Binnopharm Group and will continue to implement its development strategy.”
Binnopharm Group is a full-cycle Russian pharmaceutical holding, consisting of five production sites located in different regions of Russia: JSC ” Alium “(formerly “Obolenskoye” in the Serpukhov district of the Moscow region), JSC “Binnopharm” (two sites: Zelenograd and Krasnogorsk), JSC ” Synthesis “(Kurgan), CJSC” Biocom ” (Stavropol). The holding companies produce a wide range of medicines of various therapeutic groups and have the largest portfolio of drugs among Russian manufacturers, including more than 450 registration certificates, including the Sputnik V vaccine for the prevention of coronavirus infection.