MOSCOW, August 5 (RIA Novosti) – Billionaire oil trader Gennady Timchenko intends to create a holding company to manage and consolidate his aviation assets, the Vedomosti business daily reported Monday, citing a spokesman for the entrepreneur.
While Timchenko – who, according to the paper, holds both Russian and Finnish citizenship – has had business interests spanning everything from gas extraction to fish processing and construction to bottled water, this venture seems focused specifically on Russia’s business aviation market, which analysts have called promising.
Within the next two months, the new company, called A-group, will integrate three of Timchenko’s aviation interests, the unnamed spokesman told Vedomosti: Avia Group, which has a 74 percent stake in Sheremetyevo Airport’s business-oriented Terminal A in Moscow; Avia Group Nord, with 70 percent in the St. Petersburg-based Pulkovo-2’s business terminal; and the Finnish business-jet airline Airfix Aviation, which is 99 percent owned by Timchenko-controlled companies.
In the medium term, the new holding intends to develop an airline maintenance center, business-jet leasing, aircraft design services, helicopter services between business terminals and charter flights, the spokesman said. He added that a top priority will be to improve the efficiency of existing services and increase profitability through asset synergy.
The amount of investment in the new venture was not disclosed.
A-group’s general director will be Yevgeny Andrachnikov, whom Vedomosti cites as confirming the appointment. Andrachnikov formerly served as chairman of Avia Management Group, the parent company of Moscow-based air taxi operator Dexter.
Last week, Reuters reported that Timchenko, believed to be a long-time associate of Russian President Vladimir Putin, “plans to seek US government-backed funding to buy luxury aircraft.” The news agency said Timchenko intends to ask for a loan guarantee from the US Export-Import Bank to purchase up to 11 business jets from the American aircraft maker Gulfstream Aerospace. The planes would boost the Airfix fleet, which is reportedly used by Russian businessmen and officials, the story said.
According to a Gulfstream catalogue referenced by Reuters, a deal that size could be worth between $173 million and $710 million.
In March, Timchenko was ranked by Forbes Magazine at No. 62 in its list of the world’s richest individuals and No. 8 among Russian billionaires, with an estimated fortune of $14.1 billion.
As of early February, according to the Prime news agency, Timchenko was a co-owner of numerous companies, including: oil trader Gunvor; Russia’s largest independent gas producer, Novatek; coal company Kolmar; railroad company Transoil; construction firm Stroytransgaz; fish-processing concern Russkoye More; and at least half a dozen others.
Cyprus-registered, Geneva-based Gunvor is the world’s fourth largest commodity trader and exports about 30 percent of Russia’s crude oil.
