Otkritie Holding JSC secured the permission of the Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service to acquire a controlling stake in Baltic Leasing OJSC via the acquisition of its main shareholder, Interservice, Kommersant reported Feb. 27.
Otkritie already holds unofficial control of Baltic Leasing, and the transaction approved by the competition authority is aimed at streamlining the ownership structure of the company in order to prepare it for its future sale to another investor, according to Kommersant.
PJSC SAFMAR Financial invts expressed interest in Baltic Leasing in 2017, but it later withdrew from the potential deal after another Otkritie Holding unit, Otkritie Financial Corp. Bank, was taken over by the Russian central bank, which negatively affected the prospects of the future transaction, the newspaper noted.
Saint Petersburg-based Baltic Leasing is Russia's 10th largest leasing company, with the value of its portfolio amounting to 41.1 billion Russian rubles.
As of Feb. 27, US$1 was equivalent to 56.24 Russian rubles.
