SOCHI (Sputnik) — Moscow plans to sell additional 24-percent stake in the Russian Helicopters holding by the end of this year, Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov said Saturday.
In March, Manturov said that Moscow was planning to sell up to 49 percent of shares to a Russian strategic investor or up to 25 percent to an investor from abroad. The initial agreement, signed at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in June, proposes the sale of an up to 25-percent stake in the company to the Russian Direct Investment Fund and a pool of Middle Eastern investors.
"I think by the end of the year," the minister told journalists, not specifying who the buyer is while answering a question about the privatization schedule.
Russian Helicopters is one of the global leaders in helicopter construction. It is the only helicopter manufacturer based in Russia, which comprises five factories, two design bureaus, as well as enterprises for the manufacture and maintenance of spare parts, as well as a service company, responsible for the after-sales maintenance in Russia and abroad.