Khachaturyants Ashot Rafailovich family. Khachaturyants in the mattress

How Sberbank Capital turns bad debts into good ones

If Sberbank Capital came to you, then you yourself created problems for yourself, one of those who dealt with him believes. After a meeting with Sberbank Capital, a business almost always changes its owner, and the owner sometimes has to change his place of residence

Sberbank Capital CEO Ashot Khachaturyants turns bad debts into good ones/ A. Makhonin

Businessman Mikhail Bezelyansky says that relations between creditors and debtors in Russia are governed by the law of the jungle: “If [the creditor] has the strength to press [on the debtor], then he presses, if he has the strength to imprison, he imprisons.” A native of Alfa-Eco, who founded the Trade House Perekrestok in the 1990s, in 2010 had to give Sberbank his business, the Mosmart network, for debts. Trivial story for times of crisis: large bank loans, defaulted bonds and no way to pay bills. The network first went to a specialized "daughter" of Sberbank for managing problem assets - the company "Sberbank Capital", and then ceased to exist.

The owners of Mosmart, Bezelyansky and his partner from the time of Alfa-Eco, Andrey Shelukhin, can be said to have escaped with little bloodshed. Some other businessmen, who owed money to Sberbank during the crisis and faced Sberbank Capital, are hiding abroad or sitting in prison, cursing the state bank and accusing its “daughter” of raiding. Bezelyansky, on the other hand, believes that Sberbank Capital is only doing business “in the traditions accepted in Moscow” and admits: “If Sberbank Capital attacked someone, then this someone created problems for himself.”

investment collector

The general director of Sberbank Capital, Ashot Khachaturyants, recalls that when the company was created, there was no talk of managing problem assets. Sberbank, he said, needed an investment banking division. “Often large corporate clients need not only the organization of lending, but also the attraction of additional investments or, for example, the proper organization of the transaction under which the loan was raised. Thus, for the bank it is additional income and customer loyalty. Previously, these tools were not available to him, ”Khachaturyants explained in an interview with Vedomosti a year after the creation of Sberbank Capital.

“The company was registered in July 2008 [as a 100% subsidiary of Sberbank], Ashot Khachaturyants took office in September, and in October they began to recruit a team,” recalls Dmitry Belenov, Khachaturyants' deputy. We didn't have our own office. And so I sat with a laptop in my car parked near the central office of Sberbank, worked with documents, and then brought them to the bank on a flash drive. Then we were given a small office in the bank.”

The crisis of 2008 mixed up all the cards, and instead of fostering loyalty in customers, Sberbank Capital did the exact opposite, becoming, in fact, a collection agency and a nightmare of a negligent debtor of Sberbank.

Khachaturyants recalls a story that took place shortly after the creation of Sberbank Capital. In autumn 2008, Shalva Chigirinsky received margin calls on a Sberbank loan secured by a 23.3% stake in his company Sibir Energy. “Chigirinsky came to us and offered to structure the loan according to English law. We didn’t have time to say “yes” yet, when he ran to the presidential administration and began to complain that we all want to take it offshore,” says Khachaturyants. - And how did it all end? He did not want to give the money, as a result he lost everything. We were able to eventually sell this company to Gazprom Neft and return $1 billion to Sberbank.”

To indicate the state of borrowers, Sberbank came up with a special “traffic light”, says Belenov, green - a borrower without problems, a borrower with minor problems - yellow, a borrower in a pre-bankrupt state - red and bankrupt - black. During the crisis, if a red or black borrower had some kind of live business or assets, then Sberbank Capital was connected to work with him.

We go

According to Belenov, the same scheme was offered to all problem borrowers: the debtor gives Sberbank Capital a controlling stake for a symbolic amount with the possibility of its repurchase, and the bank writes off his debts.

But the debtors did not always agree to this.

Belenov cites as an example two borrowers (obedient and obstinate) - the packaging manufacturer Gotek and the crushed stone producer Pavlovskgranit. “One region, one department of Sberbank issued a loan, approximately the same amount of debt, the same offer was made to the owners,” says Belenov. Gotek agreed. According to the "traffic light" of Sberbank, "Gotek" was a black borrower, and now green or yellow, is negotiating a merger with one of the international players. Nothing prevented the owner of Pavlovskgranit from doing the same.” But the main owner of Pavlovskgranit, Sergei Poimanov, refused to transfer control to the bank.

One of Poimanov's companies, Pavlovskgranit-invest, just before the crisis, in August 2008, took out a loan of 5.6 billion rubles. in the Central Black Earth Sberbank on the security of Pavlovskgranit, and in 2009 she could not pay her debts. The Credit Committee of Sberbank decided to restructure the debt of Pavlovskgranit-invest. Poimanov's structure was supposed to transfer to Sberbank Capital a 51% stake in Pavlovskgranit (for 1 million rubles, Poimanov himself specified to Vedomosti). In return, Sberbank removed the debt from Pavlovskgranit-invest and re-registered it for Pavlovskgranit. Loan payments began two years later - until the summer of 2011, the new borrower received credit holidays, and the rate was reduced from 15 to 14.75%.

“We have always offered shareholders the opportunity to buy back shares when pre-agreed covenants worked, for example, the ratio of debt to EBITDA reached certain values. This “window of opportunity” has always been legally formalized,” says Belenov. In the case of Poimanov, the “window” also appears in the minutes of the meeting of the bank’s credit committee: “Give the right to buy back 51% of the shares of Pavlovskgranit OJSC at the acquisition price of this block of shares in Sberbank Capital LLC plus 350 million rubles. in case of repayment of 2/3 of the debt under the loan agreement or achievement of the Debt / EBITDA ratio equal to 3, according to the consolidated financial statements of the debtor's group of companies, confirmed by the auditors.

Poimanov refused. He explains that he was embarrassed by the complete loss of control over the enterprise for two years: “During the negotiations, it turned out that, having received a 51% stake in Pavlovskgranit, Sberbank Capital would replace the board of directors there: “It is not known in what state I would have received the enterprise back ". But this is a necessity: Sberbank Capital is included in the management bodies, “so that in a working order, without waiting for reporting, to understand whether the client is moving within the framework of the approved business plan or not,” explains Belenov.

When Poimanov refused, Sberbank Capital went to court. The first 36.37% of Pavlovskgranit's shares were written off from Poimanov's structures in May 2011. Vedomosti got acquainted with the report of the Accounts Chamber on Sberbank Capital, Sberbank's loan agreements and other documents, from which it follows that this package of Pavlovskgranit ”, and then the rest of his shares, along with Poimanov’s debts, went to structures associated with the National Non-Metal Company of Yuri Zhukov. Sberbank also refinanced the new owner of Pavlovskgranit.

Sberbank Capital had a lot of similar conflict stories (see inset).

We manage

Poimanov's fears that Sberbank Capital would not be able to handle management may not have been unfounded. This is evidenced by the stories that happened with the retail chains managed by Sberbank Capital: Alpi, Mosmart and Vester.

The Mosmart trading network, which was founded by Bezelyansky and Shelukhin, owed Sberbank 3 billion rubles, and the bank connected Sberbank Capital to work with this debt. Mosmart was included in the list of enterprises that could receive state support during the crisis. But, recalls Bezelyansky, the investment company liked the Mosmart stores as real estate objects, “it didn’t understand much about business.”

According to the usual scheme, the owners of Mosmart were offered to transfer a controlling stake in Sberbank to Capital, they did not agree for a long time. The negotiations lasted a whole year, recalls Bezelyansky, “until the company died, and when it died, they began to manage it.” While negotiations were going on, the work of Mosmart was practically paralyzed - suppliers who were no longer paid, filed lawsuits one after another.

In June 2009, a network of 25 stores came under the control of Sberbank Capital - it received 50% plus 2 shares, about 40% remained with Bezelyansky and Shelukhin, another 10% passed to the company of a member of the board of directors of AFK Sistema Evgeny Novitsky.

Some Mosmart stores were sold almost immediately as real estate. By the fall of 2009, relations with suppliers were restored, the network began to operate and actively borrow from Sberbank. “Sberbank has always declared that it has two resources - time and money. Sberbank can wait a year, or two, or ten, and “top up” any amount at any time in any business - during the crisis, it received secured loans from the Central Bank,” says Belenov. In the case of Mosmart, it seems that they have been "transfused" - the network's debt to Sberbank has grown to 12 billion rubles. But all this did not help - in 2011 the network ceased to exist, its remains in the form of seven hypermarkets (four owned, three leased) were sold to the owner of Seventh Continent Alexander Zanadvorov for a symbolic $1,000.

How could it be that the debt has quadrupled? “Part of the money was spent on settlements with suppliers, the rest - on operational activities. If it’s very rude, they ate it,” says one of the former Mosmart managers.

Alpi, which Sberbank Capital acquired among its first assets, was disposed of even earlier - out of harm's way, recalls Khachaturyants. He still remembers the trip to Siberia to the network facilities: “We arrived at the enterprise and found out that ammonia had not been removed from the territory (in one of the shopping centers, the cooling units and air conditioning systems were old and worked on ammonia. - Vedomosti) . Distances in Siberia - you know yourself: the car that was supposed to take out this ammonia was 1000 km away. The Prosecutor General's Office writes us an order: to take it out within a week. And what should we do? We began to study further and found out that elevators and escalators in shopping centers are not owned, they are designed for a different structure. Rents are miserable, all around black cash<...>Lease agreements for many areas were not concluded in principle. Unregistered redevelopment, design violations, operational violations, violations of fire safety rules. 23 stores were put up for auction through the Auction House of the Russian Federation as real estate, and for 3.5 billion rubles. the property was bought by AMK-Pharma (part of the Regions Group of Companies of the Mutsoev family).

Among the first assets of Sberbank Capital was the bad debt of the structures of the oil company Urals Energy for $635 million. The collateral for a loan of $500 million was 35.55% of Taas-Yuryakh neftegazodobycha LLC. There was no collateral for a $135 million loan issued for the purchase of 100% of NK Dulisma LLC, and for the credit line allocated for the Dulisma investment program, Dulisma itself was collateral, which produced 50,000 tons per year and generated almost no cache, Belenov recalls.

Sberbank Capital had to tinker with Dulisma. After the debtor stopped servicing the loan, Dulisma changed its form of ownership from LLC to CJSC. This happened at the request of the bank itself, but the documents were drawn up in such a way that the pledge was lost, says Belenov. After six months of negotiations, Sberbank Capital managed to get an unsecured loan for $135 million transferred to CJSC NK Dulisma, and then re-register both assets of Urals Energy.

Sberbank Capital managed the former assets of Urals Energy until 2012. “The situation there was terrible,” says Khachaturyants. “We have done a great job.” Sberbank issued Dulisma 7.5 billion rubles. development loans. According to Khachaturyants, a pipe was built to the main pipeline of Transneft, and an export quota was achieved. And the preservation of the preferential export duty rate, which was canceled for small deposits in 2011, was personally handled by the president of Sberbank German Gref: in November 2011, he wrote an appeal to the then curator of the oil and gas industry in the government, Igor Sechin. He held a meeting at which they decided to keep Dulisma at a preferential rate. During the management of Sberbank Capital, the production of Dulisma increased to 750,000 tons per year.

In 2012, Sberbank Capital decided to sell its oil assets. Rosneft bought 35% of Taas-Yuryakh oil and gas production for $444 million, and the Khotins family bought Dulisma for $95 million.

We leave

“Unlike a classic investment company, we were not looking for clients, they were given to us by fate - this is an overdue, problematic and potentially problematic portfolio of large and medium-sized Sberbank borrowers. KPI is the implementation of the plan for the return of problematic and overdue debts, ”says Belenov. Over the four years of operation, Sberbank Capital, according to its calculations, returned about 60 billion rubles, having gained them from the sale of assets and shares in companies (see table). Khachaturyants says that the company sold all the assets, except for one - Alpi, at a profit.

What is the profit if Mosmart owed 12 billion rubles, and sold it for $1,000? The bottom line, of course, is that in many cases, the debt, along with the asset, passes to a new owner.

For example, the deal with Dulisma. The Khotins' structures paid $95 million to Sberbank Capital and took on the old debt, which grew from $135 million to $160 million due to interest, and the new one - 7.5 billion rubles.

Giving the last Mosmart stores to the owner of Seventh Continent for $1,000, Sberbank Capital, along with them, lost to Alexander Zanadvorov and grew from 3 billion to 12 billion rubles. network debt. Zanadvorov told Vedomosti that "the price was the market price." Under this deal and to restructure previously received loans, he borrowed 31 billion rubles from Sberbank.

From the point of view of repaying the loan, Sberbank Capital fulfilled its task, Bezelyansky argues, but at the same time the company's value was destroyed. It turns out that by managing enterprises, Sberbank Capital increased their debts to Sberbank, only these debts turned from bad to good.

Apparently, therefore, few of the former owners became interested in the “window of opportunity” and bought their business back. In the case of the controlling stake in Vedomosti, only one such case was found - this is the already mentioned Gotek. Vladimir Chuikov gave Sberbank Capital 60% of the enterprise for 1 ruble, and then bought it back. “Chuikov is grateful to us. We literally cleaned Gotek, washed it, adjusted the workflow and introduced IFRS reporting,” says Belenov. It was not possible to contact Chuikov.

"We won't forgive those people"

The owner of Pavlovskgranit, who lost his business due to his unwillingness to meet the requirements of Sberbank Capital, can be said to have gotten off lightly. Others are now on the run, or even in prison

War for MAIR The owner of the MAIR industrial group, Viktor Makushin, now lives in Cyprus, and the general director of the group's metallurgical plants, Sergei Musatov, was sentenced to four years. Thus ended the credit history of MAIR and Sberbank. MAIR calls itself the world's largest network of scrap processing enterprises; in 2008, the revenue of its enterprises exceeded $100 million per month. MAIR had loans from Sberbank for 2.5 billion rubles. In early 2009, Sberbank demanded that Makushin increase the deposit or return the money. Makushin responded by asking for a restructuring (prices for MAIR products fell fivefold, and the group could not service its debts), but the bank refused. Then Makushin initiated the bankruptcy of factories and publicly accused officials and bankers of raiding. After that, he was charged with fraud. So the businessman ended up in Cyprus. In the summer of 2010, Makushin gave the creditor 77% of Rusvtormet Center, which owned the MAIR metallurgical plants in Krasny Sulin and Georgievsk, which were undergoing bankruptcy proceedings. In an interview with the Cypriot portal CJN, Makushin said that he signed the agreement on the sale of Rusvtormet Center while in a Cypriot prison awaiting extradition. War for Izhavto Since 2011, Russia has been trying to extradite Yury Kachmazov, the former owner of the Samara SOK group, from the UAE. The SOK included the Izhavto plant, which assembled Kia cars. In 2008, Izhavto's revenue was almost 21 billion rubles. During the crisis, Izhavto began to have difficulties - it owed 8 billion rubles to Sberbank alone. SOK found a way to get rid of the over-credited asset: it sold Izhavto to close companies, and in fact the plant itself paid it off with cars worth $200 million. It was said that Kachmazov withdrew part of the cars from Sberbank’s collateral by simply moving the fence of the finished product warehouse. “We will not forgive those people who committed fraudulent actions, this situation. We will do everything to bring them to justice, think that they do business in the country<...>it will be very difficult,” Sberbank President German Gref promised in an interview with Business FM. A criminal case was opened against Kachmazov, Izhavto was bankrupted. The plant's assets were sold at auction and ultimately went to AvtoVAZ. And most of the debts of Izhavto were bought from Sberbank by the shareholder of AvtoVAZ - Rostekhnologii. War for Energomash The owner of the Energomash holding, Alexander Stepanov, did not have time to go abroad, as he had already been convicted by an English court for two years and put on the international wanted list. In Russia, a criminal case on fraud for 12.7 billion rubles. was initiated at the request of Gref. The businessman was arrested in February 2011 right in the office of Sberbank, where he came to negotiate a debt restructuring. In 2012, Stepanov was sentenced to 4.5 years. Energomash is one of the largest Russian holdings, uniting eight machine-building plants whose products were supplied to nuclear power plants and thermal power plants. Forbes in 2009 estimated his assets at $4.3 billion (including $1.3 billion in debt). In 2005, Stepanov staked on the production and operation of small gas turbine thermal power plants; For this program, GT-TES Energo, which is part of the holding, received a loan from Sberbank for 17.5 billion rubles. During the crisis, events began to develop according to a familiar scenario. Sberbank refused to restructure and demanded 7 billion rubles in debt. transfer assets to a third structure. Stepanov, in response, tried to carry out a "restructuring" of assets already in his own interests, but unsuccessfully. Now Energomash companies are going bankrupt, Sberbank is the largest creditor. Prepared by Rinat Sagdiev

The Company is a 100% subsidiary of Sberbank of Russia OAO

"Affiliated companies"

OJSC Krasnaya Polyana - Now about 60% of the shares of Krasnaya Polyana are owned by the brother of Senator Akhmed Bilalov Magomed, 25% - by Sberbank Capital, 11% - by the Krasnodar Territory, 4% - by the sovereign fund InvestAD (UAE), says a person close to the company source. It is assumed that the bulk of the additional issue will be bought out by Sberbank Capital, and as a result, it can increase its stake in the company to a controlling one (51%), and Magomed Bilalov plans to keep the share no higher than 40%, says the source of Vedomosti. Magomed Bilalov himself confirmed this information.

"News"

Sberbank and German Gref became defendants in an American court

PPF Management, registered in the state of Delaware, filed a lawsuit on November 22 in the Southern District of New York court demanding $500 million in material and $250 million in moral damages for the loss of control over a large crushed stone mining enterprise, Pavlovskgranit (see inset). The defendants in the lawsuit are Sberbank, its chairman of the board German Gref, Sberbank Capital and its CEO Ashot Khachaturyants, NEO Center and its vice president Oleg Gref, co-owner of the National Non-Metal Company (NNK) Yuri Zhukov, as well as several other legal entities and individuals persons. Until March 28, the court accepts the responses of the defendants to the lawsuit, and the first hearing will be on April 20, the case file says.

In America, the Russian "Sberbank" is suspected of raiding

The defendants in the lawsuit are the Russian Sberbank and its president German Gref, Sberbank Capital and its CEO Ashot Khachaturyants, NEO Center and its vice president Oleg Gref, co-owner of the National Non-Metal Company (NNK) of Russia Yuri Zhukov, and a few more legal entities and individuals.

Sberbank was left alone in Tsar's Garden

Sberbank Capital remained the sole investor in the construction of the Tsarev Sad multifunctional complex on Sofiyskaya Embankment in the center of Moscow, worth RUB 16 billion. Another project partner - Midland Development (it owned 25%) - retained only the functions of the construction manager. Probably, the company was frightened by the vague prospects for a return on investment in Tsar's Garden, the infamous long-term construction of the capital.

The former IT manager of Sberbank went to work in Rosneft

As it became known to CNews, the former managing director of the IT block of Sberbank and the director of the infrastructure development center of subsidiary company Sberbank-Technologies Sergey Pegasov since July 1, 2013 is appointed the director of the department of IT services in Rosneft's IT service. This is a new position, previously there was no such position in the company.

The IT director on the corporate and investment block leaves Sberbank

The fact that Sberbank is leaving Alexei Katrich, who holds the post of CIO for the corporate block and for Sberbank CIB (former Troika Dialog), was told to CNews by one of the ex-heads of the bank's IT block.

How Sberbank Capital turns bad debts into good ones

After meeting with the "daughter" of the largest bank in the country, the business almost always changes its owner, and the owner sometimes has to change his place of residence

Krasnaya Polyana has many investors

The additional issue of shares of Krasnaya Polyana, which is building the Gornaya Karusel sports and tourist complex near Sochi, was bought out not only by Sberbank Capital, but also by Magomed Bilalov’s NBB group of companies

Midland will complete the "Tsar's Garden" in the center of Moscow

Sberbank Capital has found a partner for the construction of the Tsarev Sad complex on Bolotny Island.

"Sberbank Capital" in 2011 wants to double the repayment of bad debts

MOSCOW, February 16 - RIA Novosti. The subsidiary of the largest Russian bank Sberbank Capital, which manages non-core assets, settled bad debts for 7 billion rubles in 2010, and in 2011 plans to almost double the repayment of bad debts - up to 13 billion rubles, said Ashot, CEO of Sberbank Capital Khachaturyants at a press conference on Wednesday.

Sberbank is changing its investment subsidiary

The investment subsidiary of Sberbank, Sberbank Capital, may be liquidated in four years. By 2015, it will fulfill its function of selling non-core assets of Sberbank, explains the head of the company Ashot Khachaturyants. After the purchase of Troika Dialog Investment Company by Sberbank, the two investment subsidiaries will be crowded, experts say.

Sberbank of Russia, Sberbank Capital, Sarnatus and Bakarella Fund have agreed to cooperate in managing the Mosmart group of companies

June 8, 2009, Moscow – Sberbank of Russia OAO (RTS: SBER, MICEX: SBER03), its 100% subsidiary OOO Sberbank Capital, Cypriot company Sarnatus Trading Limited (“Sarnatus”) controlled by Mikhail Bezelyansky and Andrey Shelukhin and Bacarella Holdings Corporation (“Bacarella”), a private equity fund controlled by Evgeny Novitsky, have agreed to cooperate on the reorganization of the Mosmart group of companies and the further management of the asset on the following terms:

Sberbank Capital and Bakarella are acquiring from Sarnatus a controlling stake in a management company that owns and manages the Mosmart retail chain and shopping centers. The amount of the transaction is not disclosed.

Sberbank Capital will deal with distressed assets

Sberbank Capital replenishes the team

The head of Sberbank Capital, Ashot Khachaturyants, continues to recruit employees. His fifth deputy was Leonid Frumkin, who previously oversaw the monitoring department of the FFMS. Mr. Frumkin will work with Sberbank's territorial banks to restructure companies' debts.

Leonid Frumkin has become Deputy General Director of Sberbank Capital. A new appointment at Sberbank Capital was reported to RBC daily by several professional participants. Mr. Frumkin confirmed his move to Sberbank Capital, but declined to comment further. Sberbank Capital was unable to get a comment yesterday. According to one of RBC daily's sources, Mr. Frumkin will oversee the regional bloc. “His task is to work with the territorial banks of Sberbank to restructure the debt of corporate clients,” another source knows. Previously, Leonid Frumkin served as the head of the information and monitoring department of the FSFM, in particular, he supervised professional participants in disclosing information about their own funds.

The piquant secret of Sberbank Capital

Can a person who does not pay his debts get a high-ranking position in a bank? Can a man who ruined and betrayed his family become a family happiness consultant? Practice shows that everything is possible in Russia. The Kommersant newspaper on November 17, 2010 “pleased” the real estate market with sensational news: “The new development company of Sberbank, Sberbank Development, was proposed to be headed by the founder and minority shareholder of the PIK group (12.5% of shares) Yuri Zhukov. A businessman can also become a co-owner of the structure being created if he transfers his stake in PIK to its balance sheet. The same report said that Sberbank, with the assistance of Zhukov, could buy shares in PIK from other shareholders of the group. A little later, plans for a partnership with Yuri Zhukov were officially confirmed by German Gref.

Ashot Khachaturyants - a new threat to Oleg Deripaska

The head of Sberbank of Russia, German Gref, is proud of his spotless reputation as a liberal and marketer. It is generally accepted that the credit organization headed by him, with all its scale and with all the breadth of interests, remains one of the most "civilized", i.e. open and focused solely on the civilized means of doing business. But behind the diligently built facade of the “new Sberbank”, as it turns out, structures can grow that are not even controlled by Gref himself and do not always share his principles. One of these structures has already become the company "Sberbank - Capital", terrifying borrowers of "Sberbank of Russia" throughout the country - from the most influential Yuri Kachmazov to little-known regional businessmen. The next one who can get acquainted with the iron grip of Sberbank collectors may be Oleg Deripaska, unsinkable at first glance.

Why Ashot Khachaturyants is dangerous for the unsinkable Oleg Deripaska

Ashot Khachaturyants: "Why be afraid of us - we are not raiders"

To save property is such a task facing the owners of Russian companies. Making purchase after purchase, they pledged their assets in banks. And in a crisis, being unable to service debts, they risk losing their shares. But the largest bank in the country - Sberbank - during the crisis got a chance to become the owner of attractive assets and decided to take advantage of this chance. According to Ashot Khachaturyants, Sberbank wants its subsidiary Sberbank Capital to become the largest investment company in the country. Khachaturyants told Vedomosti about how this task is being carried out.

German Gref calls on the "border guard" to be an investment banker

Ashot Khachaturyants, former adviser to German Gref as head of the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, can head Sberbank Capital, the investment banking subsidiary of the country's largest credit institution. His last position was the head of the department for the implementation of the Federal Target Program "State Border of the Russian Federation" of the FSB of Russia. According to RIA Novosti, Ashot Khachaturyants is now "the main and only contender for this position", his candidacy has already been approved by German Gref, and the matter is up to the supervisory board.

Investment "daughter" of Sberbank headed by Ashot Khachaturyants

Sberbank Capital LLC, a subsidiary of Sberbank's investment company, was headed by Ashot Khachaturyants, according to the bank's third-quarter securities report. Prior to joining the Security Council of the Russian Federation, he held the position of head of the department for the implementation of the Federal Target Program "State Border of the Russian Federation" of the FSB of Russia. The Interfax agency notes that Khachaturyants worked for several years at the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation - first as an adviser to German Gref, supervising Gazprom, and in 2003-2004 he headed the investment policy department of the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade.

CEO of Sberbank Capital Ashot Khachaturyants joined the board of directors of Polymetal

General Director of Sberbank Capital LLC (a 100% subsidiary of Sberbank) Ashot Khachaturyants has been elected a new member of the Board of Directors of OJSC Polymetal, the largest silver producer and one of the largest gold producers in the Russian Federation, the company's press service reports. The extraordinary meeting of Polymetal shareholders on Friday decided to increase the number of board members from 9 to 10 people. All former council members were re-elected.

Raider schemes of Sberbank-Capital: Know-how of Ashot Khachaturyants

Sberbank's investment division, Sberbank Capital, is going through hard times. Too much noise began to rise around cases that love silence and privacy. A few months ago, the head of Sberbank-Capital, Mr. Ashot Khachaturyants, appeared in the public plane with almost the only interview, the key message of which was the phrase - "We are not raiders." Now there is a wave of publications in the press, convincingly proving that Mr. Khachaturyants was somewhat cunning in this interview. One by one, the victims voice their claims against Khachaturyants and demand justice, although in most cases it is already physically impossible to restore it: people have lost their business completely and irrevocably, and some are only glad that they were able to maintain their freedom.

Sberbank puts up for sale assets inherited from debts

Sberbank opens sale of assets worth billions of dollars

Sberbank Capital has sent a list of companies for sale to private equity funds. He is trying to quickly get rid of the business that he inherited for debts, without waiting for the restoration of the value of assets. Buyers are aggressive and, although the due diligence process has just begun, it is already clear that it will hardly be possible to sell anything without a discount. However, managing a non-core business costs a pretty penny for banks, and they have little choice: fix a loss now or become a long-term investor and stretch costs over time.

Sberbank to get rid of oil assets for $2 billion

Sberbank has valued its oil assets, which it received as a debt from Urals Energy, at $2.35 billion. According to the bank's representatives, there is a huge interest in enterprises from companies, including Bashneft. However, too high a valuation may once again scare away potential investors.

Sberbank of the Russian Federation, Sberbank Capital and Capital Group signed cooperation agreements

Sberbank of Russia, Sberbank Capital LLC and Capital Group announced the signing of agreements on restructuring a loan to Capital Group for a total amount of more than $400 million. To complete the construction of the City of Capitals multifunctional complex, Sberbank of the Russian Federation and Sberbank Capital LLC will provide the necessary financing on a parity basis. In addition, Sberbank will offer a mortgage lending program for buyers of apartments located in the City of Capitals multifunctional complex and the City of Yachts residential complex, the bank's press service reports.

To save property is the task facing the owners of Russian companies. Making purchase after purchase, they pledged their assets in banks. And in a crisis, being unable to service debts, they risk losing their shares. But the largest bank in the country - Sberbank - during the crisis got a chance to become the owner of attractive assets and decided to take advantage of this chance. According to Ashot Khachaturyants, Sberbank wants its subsidiary Sberbank Capital to become the largest investment company in the country. Khachaturyants spoke about the progress of this task in an interview.

— Why did you decide in 2000 to "quit" your own business and become a government official?

— By 2000, we had already built a good business in the field of oil refining and oil trading, further growth was limited, as a significant share of the market was occupied by large and much stronger players. I had already decided financial issues for myself at that time. I was young and I needed a drive, something new. Drive, in a good way, is my driving force in life. I decided to try myself in a completely different sector. I have always been interested in how the state machine works, especially in a situation where interesting people with a new outlook come to the state service, such as, for example, German Gref. Working with such people immediately captures. Therefore, without hesitation, I accepted the offer to work at the Ministry of Economic Development.

— How did you meet Gref?

- I was introduced to Gref at one of the events. I learned a lot while working at the Ministry of Economic Development. Then Gref was a member of the board of directors of Gazprom, and as an adviser to the minister I was directly responsible for interaction with Gazprom, for example, for preparing documents for boards of directors. The company was going through big changes at that time, just a new team came in, so it was a very dynamic time. Subsequently, I headed the investment policy department of the Ministry of Economic Development, where I participated in shaping the ministry's position on the budgets and investment programs of the largest state-owned companies. I must say that I gained a wealth of experience in interacting with our monopolies and understanding how our economy actually works.

- Why did you leave this job and apply to the FSB?

- I moved to this structure in 2004 at the invitation of Vladimir Egorovich Pronichev (Director of the Border Service of the FSB of Russia. - Vedomosti). First, to deal with the financial component of the federal targeted program for the development of borders in the Caucasus, because there were some difficulties ...

- Did you steal?

— No, it just needed the experience of the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, combined with good expertise in the field of finance. To implement the FTP, a special department was created within the FSB, which on a daily basis was engaged in organizing the construction and improvement of the border in the Caucasus. I was the head of this department. In less than four years, it was possible to equip the state border throughout the North Caucasus, from sea to sea. These are not posts, this is a huge infrastructure that provides for technical means of border protection, means of communication, and the construction of outposts. I went there constantly, controlled the distribution of money, construction.

- Was it a drive?

- Huge. Working there today is perhaps the most significant event in my life. The program had to be completed in a very short time, it was under the control of the president. The program had to be corrected, initially it was not quite correctly calculated. The contractors were all local. We converted them to other ratios and during the first three months brought the budget 743 million rubles. net savings. The total construction budget was more than 20 billion rubles.

- Do you have a title?

- There is no title. It was a general's position, but I remained an absolutely civilian person.

Were there any dangers in your work?

- Once in Dagestan, the helicopter in which we were sitting crashed into a cable during takeoff, and everything could have ended quickly, but, fortunately, nothing happened. Of course, this work was accompanied by an increased level of adrenaline, but the main thing is still the understanding that you are doing a really important thing that has an absolutely real tangible result.

Was she rewarded in any way?

- Yes, the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" III degree.

- And what happened after the FSB?

- When the program for the Caucasus was implemented, Vladimir Egorovich Pronichev, who also heads the central council of the Dynamo sports society, asked me to take up projects for the revival and development of the Dynamo regional sports infrastructure. Since then, I have been a member of the central council of Dynamo, where I continue to oversee this program. And after a while Gref called me and offered to meet. This was in 2008. Gref said that the bank was creating a new company, Sberbank Capital, which should become one of the largest investment companies in Russia, and he offered me to head it.

— Why did Sberbank decide to create its own investment company?

— Firstly, this is an additional service for bank customers. Often, large corporate clients need not only the organization of lending, but also the attraction of additional investments or, for example, the proper organization of the transaction under which the loan was raised. Thus, for the bank it is additional income and customer loyalty. Previously, these tools were not available to him. Secondly, through such an instrument, the bank can independently invest its own funds in promising projects and receive investment income.

- How was it planned to create an investment company, the details of this plan?

— In 2008, it was planned to carry out corporate changes, attract a team, and provide the company with financial resources. And then the crisis struck, and during the crisis our tasks changed. Today, our main task is to work with the parent bank's distressed assets. At the same time, in any case, our goal in the medium term remains the same - we must become the largest investment company in the country.

— Does Sberbank Capital have a business plan?

“Today we have formulated strategic goals: to resolve issues with large and socially significant distressed assets and ensure the return of funds to the balance sheet of the parent bank. At the same time, it should be understood that the simple implementation of collaterals in the current conditions is often not able to ensure the return of funds, which means that we must offer a solution that will allow us to return the value of collaterals. Most often, this means that we must ensure the survival of such an asset and allow it to develop. Only under such conditions will he be able to restore his value after a while, and we will be able to return the bank's funds in full. The second important task is the break-even of Sberbank Capital itself. We cannot be a burden for the parent bank. We are a business, even today with a strong social component. We do not have a specific business plan in numbers. In a crisis, when it is not clear what and in what condition you will get to work, it is impossible to plan financial indicators.

- But now it is already clear whether you are working with a profit or not?

- In November, we have to sum up the results of work for nine months. The only thing I can say [now] is that we are a profitable company.

- What makes up the profit?

— Our income, like that of all investment companies, is formed from commissions and investment income on those projects where we enter with our own money. The money we earn covers our operating costs and the cost of holding the distressed assets that we get.

— Do you know the amount of delinquency on Sberbank loans in general?

— I don't have general figures, as we work only with specific projects. Expert assessment - up to 6%.

— How is the system of working with problem debtors built in Sberbank?

- As soon as the debtor ceases to service the debt, a signal about this goes to the department for working with problem assets in Sberbank and to us. We have our own investment committee. When a request is received from the bank on a particular topic, we consider this task at our investment committee, how interesting it is for us as a business project, whether we can save the bank’s money, the property that was transferred to us, and return the funds to the bank as much as possible. We have the opportunity to refuse to accept a project for work. If we see its futility, we believe that this opportunity has been missed, then this is already a matter of bankruptcy, the security service ...

— Collector?

- Probably, yes, now the department for work with problem assets has set a course for the formation of a short list of collectors, management companies.

What criteria are used to select projects? Which overdue loans remain in the bank, which ones are transferred to Sberbank Capital?

- Criteria such as the industry of the debtor or the scale of the problem are not taken into account. This is a movement in two directions. On the one hand, we evaluate all the problem assets of the bank, look at where, with proper work, it is possible to ensure the growth in the value of the asset to the greatest extent and return the funds to the bank. On the other hand, the most socially important problematic projects are immediately transferred to us for work, since the parent bank is interested in the quality management and development of such assets, primarily because of their social significance. In this case, we are no longer asked. Thus, it turns out that we work with the largest debtors. After we take on a project, we must decide what tactics to choose when working with this asset: act as a portfolio investor or a strategic one, whether to introduce our representatives to the board of directors, whether control over operations is necessary, etc. Specific tactics always depend on the situation in a particular company, on the quality of management, on the reasons why the company found itself in such a situation. In any case, we must find a solution that will contribute to the development of the company to the maximum extent. Sometimes for this you just need to substitute your shoulder, and sometimes you need to completely take control. Sometimes we see additional perspectives that can arise when combining several homogeneous assets under a single management. In such cases, we prefer to build it as a new business.

- For example?

- Our first project is Alpi. The most difficult. As collateral [the bank] had stores that assigned us debt under cession agreements without a discount at face value, and then the debtors assigned us the entire network. Then we did a great job there, held a competition, hired a management company, re-signed a total of 620 contracts. Further work with municipal authorities, all network maintenance fell on us. And we had to do all this. At the same time, the loan is more than $200 million, and it is clear that it was very important for the bank to deal with this asset.

- After Alpi, what did you do?

- Then there was a major deal with Capital Group, as a result of which Sberbank Capital received 60,000 sq. m under the Moscow City project and 15,000 sq. m under the project "City of Yachts". Plus, we, as co-investors, are participating in the completion of this complex and are selling apartments in these two projects ourselves. And part of the loan money is used. Of course, we need to capitalize what we have received.

How much money are you investing in this project?

- Investments to complete the construction will amount to $180 million. Of these, [we invest] $90 million. Sberbank Capital is included in the project as a co-investor.

- Who gives credit?

- Sberbank of Russia.

— What volume of investments in general will be required for the development of projects that are of interest to Sberbank Capital? Source of funds? What are the plans in this regard?

“Now it is impossible to assess. It depends on the type and scope of incoming projects.

- How many assets and for what amount are in Sberbank Capital?

— At the moment, we have 11 projects under management or in operation with a total value of over $4 billion.

— And for what amount are the projects awaiting decision?

— Projects worth about $3 billion are being discussed right now. More projects totaling over $7 billion are on the way. This is something that is now in varying degrees of development.

- Your clients are shaking, probably: you will work with them in such a way that it will be beneficial for you to resolve the issue, maybe keeping the shares?

I don't know if they are shaking or not...

- Well, how can you not be afraid? It depends on you which asset the owner will lose, which one he won’t, and under what conditions…

- Firstly, it is always a matter of agreements and we are always for dialogue. Secondly, why be afraid of us - we are not raiders. We help. We will always choose a development option that will allow, albeit in the longer term, to fully return the funds of the parent bank and at the same time will allow us to maintain jobs and social stability in these companies. On the other hand, we always understand that we are solving the problem of returning funds to the balance sheet of the country's key bank, on the stability of which a lot depends.

- Which of these have already been decided (under what conditions), what is being decided? What's in pledge?

- For obvious reasons, I can only talk in more detail about completed transactions. Alpi - restructured more than 6 billion rubles. debt, became the owners of 370,000 sq. m of space, manage objects. Global Ports - we own 10% of the shares, we participate in management. Orton Oil - restructured more than $800 million of debt, a real estate object (estimated at $27 million), which we manage, passed into our ownership. Polymetal - as part of the debt restructuring, we entered into an option on the company's shares with an expiration date of four years, we participate in the board of directors. "Aurora Oil" - the deal was closed, we own 5% of the shares, we participate in the management of the company. Mosmart - provided credit financing in the amount of 3.9 billion rubles, received a controlling stake in the company, and take part in the management of the company.

What about Rolf? Do you have his shares?

- Not. We restructured a loan for $50 million. We assessed the risks, actively negotiated, and helped the bank come to certain mutually beneficial decisions.

- Sberbank Capital claimed to receive a 50% stake in Barkley. Why couldn't we reach an agreement on this?

— We closed the deal with Barkley last week, providing the company with a new loan of $160 million to repay a $110 million overdue loan to Sberbank. $30 million will be used to repay debts to other Barkley creditors. We received 51% as collateral shares of the company, as well as investment rights to all developer sites for a total of RUB 7 billion.

— One of your development projects is PIK. Why can't you come to an agreement with Kerimov, whose structures own the group's blocking stake?

- Karimov is not personally involved in the restructuring of this transaction. We work with the management of Nafta-Moscow. The initial agreement was reached, now the deal is being detailed.

What have you already agreed on?

- They received a state guarantee, and now the conditions for debt restructuring are finally being shaken.

- Will you get a share in PIK?

— It is not yet clear. In light of the creation of our own development subsidiary, we are also very interested in some of the projects in which PIK participates. It will be a comprehensive decision, it will be adopted in the near future.

- What is the loan amount of another large development company - Coalco?

— I can't say right now, as negotiations on the restructuring of Coalco's accounts payable are currently in progress.

— What is the situation with the Coalco loan?

- We have land as a pledge and GVSU - this is a large construction company [works in Moscow and the Moscow region].

- Are you claiming a part of Coalco's shares, companies belonging to it, land, ready-made projects?

- The process is very complex, various options are being considered. I must say that Coalco's shareholder Mr. Anisimov is a very constructive negotiator.

- Well, since he is such a constructive negotiator, why can't you agree in any way? What are the fundamental differences?

- Discrepancies - in the parameters of assessing what they have. In valuation of collateral. There are no other fundamental differences.

- So he is ready to part with Coalco shares as well? Are they on hold too?

“You see, you go deeper into the details of the deal. And this is exactly the part that I cannot disclose until the completion of the transaction.

- When do you plan to complete the negotiations?

- I hope that by mid-November we will complete and announce.

- Will the agreements with Coalco be approximately the same as with PIK?

- There may be nuances. These are different companies.

- How are the negotiations on the restructuring of the loan "Don-Story" going?

“We haven't agreed on anything yet. Their assets are being assessed. In order to negotiate, mutual agreement on the value of the collateral is required. I don't know specific numbers, still a work in progress. But we are participating in the negotiation process.

— But will you enter the capital too?

- There is no solution yet. There are several options for the development of events.

— Tell us about the restructuring of the Tsarev Sad company, which is building a large office complex on Bolotny Island opposite the Kremlin.

— Tsarev Sad is an object of construction in progress, which was transferred to Sberbank as part of a debt restructuring. This object has been in a frozen state for 10 years.

In September 2009, based on the results of the competition, we identified the construction customer, who is currently conducting pre-project studies of the territory. There are several development options for this area. Sberbank Capital plans to complete the project over the next five years: to build a modern complex with restaurants, offices, an underground parking lot, and a hotel with a total area of about 80,000 sq. m. We also plan to reconstruct the historical building "Kokorevsky Compound" - both in terms of preserving the cultural and historical heritage, and in terms of ensuring the safety of its operation.

— Sberbank Capital and Urals Energy have signed an agreement on the transfer of 100% of the shares of NK Dulisma to your company. Will you sell the company?

- We will be thinking. This is our only oil asset. The total debt of Urals Energy is $630 million. We continue to work on its settlement. We will probably get another 35% of another asset of the company - Taas-Yuryakh Neftegazodobycha. Now this package is being processed [to Sberbank Capital]. Then we will either consolidate all the oil assets that we have and sell them as a package. Or we will manage for some time and wait for their cost to grow. Because Dulisma needs to be managed now, the company needs to be prepared for the winter. We have chosen a management company, it deals with receivables, looks at who to pay, who not to pay, where the debt was artificially created. But it is already quite clear that: a) we will return the money and b) we will earn on these assets. The debt will be closed.

— With whom else are you currently discussing debt restructuring or providing additional financing?

- At various stages, we are currently negotiating with [the following] companies: Mair (on whose [debt] rights of claim in the amount of 2.25 billion rubles were obtained), Aspek, Glavstroy, OAO Tamp / Samokhval, MosCity Group, VIM-avia, GT-CHP/Energomash — cost assessment, agreement on the structure and terms of the transaction with the owners are being carried out. Specialists of Sberbank Capital are also members of Sberbank's working groups on restructuring accounts payable of a number of other companies.

— Has the formation of the Sberbank Capital team been completed?

— Formation of the team is close to completion. The backbone is 10 people who worked with me before, including at the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade.

- How many people do you employ?

— There are 80 people in the main office in Moscow. Since we are creating a branch network, that is, subsidiaries of Sberbank Capital are opening in all territorial banks. Branches have already been opened in eight top-priority banks, where 75% of all accounts payable are actually formed. We are not going to expand the state to a gigantic size. Still, the idea is that Sberbank Capital should be a highly professional and not very big company even in the future. We resort to outsourcing where it is possible and effective. Where professional management companies are needed, we select them on a competitive basis. The next step after choosing a management company - where we have a lot of assets and we see great prospects - is the organization of a subsidiary.

- Does Sberbank Capital already have subsidiaries?

- Yes. We have a subsidiary, Savings Capital, which will deal with development projects. A separate subsidiary may be created from the metallurgical projects.

— Why metallurgical?

— They suffered the most during the crisis due to falling commodity prices and are now the most promising in terms of restoring value.

- What assets can get into the metallurgical "daughter"? "Mair"?

“It's too early to talk about it right now. The creation of such a company is in the plans.

- What "daughters" will be created?

- In general, you do not have a dusty job. It is convenient to work with large clients. The same Vasily Anisimov is a comfortable negotiator, a big businessman. But if you take some problematic factory in the Yaroslavl region - the “frostbitten” owner withdraws assets, it is very difficult to get the debt out of it and agree with it ... You don’t work with such people. Why? Because all you give is the gradual formation of an investment company with promising assets?

— Precisely because we are an investment company. We do not have the task of turning into a collection agency - there are specialized departments and organizations for this. We do not have a task to turn into a financial and industrial group that would work in all sectors. Our task is to work with value, so it is quite logical that we work where the importance of this factor is high for the parent bank. Another important factor is social. I want to say that the return of Sberbank money to Sberbank, which has 70 million depositors - the money of pensioners, the disabled, and so on - is no less important social task than saving some enterprise where an inefficient owner works. Of course, we feel a social function on ourselves. We cannot afford what some private banks can afford. Because we cannot be so aggressive in negotiations. Many enterprises have jobs, entire industries, and in the development business, for example, there are investors. PIK has 16,000 depositors. And we have no right to let such a company go bankrupt. This is the social function carried out by Sberbank. We, as part of Sberbank, provide our management and investment expertise in such projects and must ensure that this social function does not create losses for the parent bank. Often this is very possible, and we prove it with our projects.

— What is the most difficult part of your work with distressed assets? Were there cases when the owners tried to "cunning" - to withdraw assets, etc.?

— The most difficult thing is to negotiate with non-negotiable borrowers, who sometimes simply do not want to enter into constructive negotiations, and sometimes they try to withdraw assets from the company. But this is part of our job.

- Were there cases when entrepreneurs tried to bribe you in one form or another in order to achieve more favorable conditions for themselves?

One way or another, most owners of large businesses have known me personally for a very long time. Therefore, they do not take actions that would offend both me and them.

— Were there any attempts to bribe your employees?

“Fortunately, no. Bye. Almost all the new people who came to the company and whom I did not know before, I personally interviewed. And he warned about the degree of responsibility, and about working with very difficult clients, and that, of course, there would be temptations. But I still hope that the motivation system that has been developed at Sberbank will allow people to work honestly. I just truly believe in it. And I think that people who have come here for a long time, want to work and have an interesting job, simply will not allow themselves to do so.

- As a person dealing with problem borrowers, you should have an idea about the solvency of enterprises in the country. Do you think it is getting better?

“It varies a lot across industries. I am not a macroeconomist and I cannot give an assessment for the entire country, since we are engaged in point projects. I can only speak in terms of the companies and industries I am involved in. For us, the main indicator of positive developments is the demand for the assets we have and the speed of return of funds. So, if we talk about retail, then in this sector we see a gradual recovery associated with the restoration of suppliers' confidence in retail chains, which were able to resolve the issue of reducing their debt burden. Retail sales are a constant cash flow, and here the main thing for retailers was to ensure regular deliveries and fill the shelves. In development, we see a revival in the sale of apartments. In September-October of this year, we sold more apartments than were sold in the previous nine months. Metallurgy and the oil industry are recovering rather quickly, depending on global trends and export prices for raw materials.

- In fact, Sberbank Capital is already carrying out this preparatory work, while restructuring problem loans, while retaining promising assets. And when will Sberbank Capital become, as planned, an investment company, one of the largest in the country?

— Today we already think and act as an investment company. We are already considering some projects for direct investment. In my opinion, now is a good time to enter a number of projects. We are interested in projects with a yield of 25%. We try not to consider [projects with a yield] below this indicator. In general, we plan that within three years the private equity direction should be equal in business volume to the problem assets direction.

— Where do you plan to enter as investors?

While we are watching carefully. No decisions have been made. Industries that are of interest are named.

— That is, Sberbank is now ready to finance the purchase of new assets that have fallen in price during the crisis? Approximate amount of funds that Sberbank Capital is ready to spend on the acquisition of new assets?

— Today, the key area, as I said, is the management of distressed assets, which, believe me, is enough. The purchase of new assets is in the future.

- Do you have bonuses?

— Of course, the team must be motivated for the result. This is an issue that is being resolved and, I think, will be resolved in the near future by the president of the bank. We are now determining the team's reward parameters depending on the results. I personally don't have any guaranteed bonus. You understand that in a crisis it is simply unethical to discuss your bonus.

— What is the driving force behind your work at Sberbank Capital? Would you like to stay with the company for a long time?

“I would like to stay here just as long as I am needed here. That is, when a well-functioning mechanism is created, when, I hope, we get out of the crisis and become a full-fledged investment company, I think that at that moment I will be able to calmly leave.

- You have already worked in a variety of positions, you have tried a lot of things. What will you do when your work at Sberbank ends? Are you going to retire?

- I would like to believe in it. Those who know me say that I will not succeed. But I really want to believe in it. I will take care of my children, who now practically do not see me. I have three sons - 18, 16 and 9 years old. Seniors are students. When I can fully devote my time to my family, then I will be an absolutely happy person.

Business

Prior to joining the MEDT, Khachaturyants ran his own oil refining and oil trading business. Initial investments, according to him, were not required, since by that time he had good connections with oil companies in Western Siberia, which shipped the company the first batches of oil for sale. It was processed on a tolling basis at several refineries and resold. The monthly refining volume reached 80,000 tons of oil. “By 2000, we built a good business, but further growth was limited, since a significant market share was occupied by large and much stronger players, by that time I already felt like a wealthy person, I successfully invested the money I earned and transferred it to management, financial future my family was provided for, the experience of civil service became interesting. Khachaturyants says that he is "a very conservative investor and lost almost nothing during the crisis."

Hobby

“I have been skiing and football since I was nine years old. He played at one time for the city football team. But now there is no time for sports. I work 14-16 hours a day. The strongest emotions outside of work are when I come home and can communicate with the children.”

Children

“My middle son is studying physics at Moscow State University. The eldest graduated from high school in London, studies there at the university, his main subject is mathematics. And the Japanese language and Japanese philosophy. Once we went to Japan, and he was fascinated by this country.”

Biography

Born in 1968 in Kislovodsk. Graduated from the Moscow Institute of Oil and Gas. Gubkin in 1991. In the same year he joined Gazexport

1993
representative of Siderka in the CIS, then started his own oil trading business

2003
Head of the Investment Policy Department of the Ministry of Economic Development

2004
Head of the Department of the Target Program "State Border of the Russian Federation (2003-2010)" of the FSB of Russia

2008
CEO of Sberbank Capital LLC

Education

He completed his studies at the Moscow Institute of Oil and Gas named after I.M. Gubkin in 1991.

Labor activity

After graduation, he got a job at Gazexport.

In 1993 he became a representative of Siderka in the CIS, then he started his own oil trading business.

Since 2001, he headed the investment policy department of the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation.

From 2004 to 2008, he served as head of the department of the federal target program "State Border of the Russian Federation", the Federal Security Service of Russia.

Since 2008 - General Director of Sberbank Capital LLC.

He was a member of the Board of Directors of OAO NK RussNeft.

Active honorary member of the Gubkin Alumni Fund in 2011 and 2012. Member of the Foundation's Board of Trustees.

On February 10, 2020, it became known that he was leaving the Sberbank Capital company, which he had headed since its inception.

On February 14, 2020 Eurocement Group announced his appointment as acting president of the company. His primary tasks in his new position are to prepare a development strategy for the holding, create new points of growth and create conditions for the most efficient use of the company's competitive capabilities.

Awards

Awarded the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, 3rd class.

Family status

There are two sons.

11.11.2009 12:12 11385

- Why in 2000 did you decide to "tie up" with your own business and go to the officials?

By 2000 we had already built a good business in the oil refining and oil trading, further growth was limited, as large and much stronger players occupied a significant market share. I had already decided financial issues for myself at that time. I was young and I needed a drive, something new. Drive, in a good way, is my driving force in life. I decided to try myself in a completely different sector. I have always been interested in how the state machine works, especially in a situation where interesting people with a new outlook come to the state service, such as, for example, German Gref. Working with such people immediately captures. Therefore, without hesitation, I accepted the offer to work at the Ministry of Economic Development.

- How did you meet Gref?

I was introduced to Gref at one of the events. I learned a lot while working at the Ministry of Economic Development. Then Gref was a member of the board of directors of Gazprom, and as an adviser to the minister I was directly responsible for interaction with Gazprom, for example, for preparing documents for boards of directors. The company was going through big changes at that time, just a new team came in, so it was a very dynamic time. Subsequently, I headed the investment policy department of the Ministry of Economic Development, where I participated in shaping the ministry's position on the budgets and investment programs of the largest state-owned companies. I must say that I gained a wealth of experience in interacting with our monopolies and understanding how our economy actually works.

- Why did you leave this job and apply to the FSB?

I moved to this structure in 2004 at the invitation of Vladimir Egorovich Pronichev (Director of the Border Service of the FSB of Russia. - Vedomosti). First - to deal with the financial component of the federal targeted program for the improvement of borders in the Caucasus, because there were some difficulties ...

- Did you steal?

No, it just needed the experience of the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, combined with good expertise in the field of finance. To implement the FTP, a special department was created within the FSB, which on a daily basis was engaged in organizing the construction and improvement of the border in the Caucasus. I was the head of this department. In less than four years, it was possible to equip the state border throughout the North Caucasus, from sea to sea. These are not posts, this is a huge infrastructure that provides for technical means of border protection, means of communication, and the construction of outposts. I went there constantly, controlled the distribution of money, construction.

- Was it a drive?

Huge. Working there today is perhaps the most significant event in my life. The program had to be completed in a very short time, it was under the control of the president. The program had to be corrected, initially it was not quite correctly calculated. The contractors were all local. We converted them to other ratios and during the first three months brought the budget 743 million rubles. net savings. The total construction budget was more than 20 billion rubles.

- Do you have a title?

No title. It was a general's position, but I remained an absolutely civilian person.

- Were there any dangers in your work?

Once in Dagestan, the helicopter in which we were sitting crashed into a cable during takeoff, and everything could have ended quickly, but, fortunately, nothing happened. Of course, this work was accompanied by an increased level of adrenaline, but the main thing is still the understanding that you are doing a really important thing that has an absolutely real tangible result.

Was she rewarded in any way?

Yes, the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, III degree.

- And what happened after the FSB?

When the program for the Caucasus was implemented, Vladimir Egorovich Pronichev, who also heads the central council of the Dynamo sports society, asked me to take up projects for the revival and development of the Dynamo regional sports infrastructure. Since then, I have been a member of the central council of Dynamo, where I continue to oversee this program. And after a while Gref called me and offered to meet. This was in 2008. Gref said that the bank was creating a new company, Sberbank Capital, which should become one of the largest investment companies in Russia, and he offered me to head it.

- Why did Sberbank decide to create its own investment company?

Firstly, this is an additional service for bank customers. Often, large corporate clients need not only the organization of lending, but also the attraction of additional investments or, for example, the proper organization of the transaction under which the loan was raised. Thus, for the bank it is additional income and customer loyalty. Previously, these tools were not available to him. Secondly, through such an instrument, the bank can independently invest its own funds in promising projects and receive investment income.

- How was it planned to create an investment company, the details of this plan?

In 2008, it was planned to carry out corporate changes, attract a team, and provide the company with financial resources. And then the crisis struck, and during the crisis our tasks changed. Today our main task is to work with the parent bank's distressed assets. At the same time, in any case, our goal in the medium term remains the same - we must become the largest investment company in the country.

- Does Sberbank Capital have a business plan?

Today, we have formulated strategic goals: to resolve issues with large and socially significant distressed assets and ensure the return of funds to the balance sheet of the parent bank. At the same time, it should be understood that the simple implementation of collaterals in the current conditions is often not able to ensure the return of funds, which means that we must offer a solution that will allow us to return the value of collaterals. Most often, this means that we must ensure the survival of such an asset and allow it to develop. Only under such conditions will he be able to restore his value after a while, and we will be able to return the bank's funds in full. The second important task is the break-even of Sberbank Capital itself. We cannot be a burden for the parent bank. We are a business - even today with a strong social component. We do not have a specific business plan in numbers. In a crisis, when it is not clear what and in what condition you will get to work, it is impossible to plan financial indicators.

- But now it is already clear whether you are working with a profit or not?

In November, we have to sum up the results of nine months of work. The only thing I can say [now] is that we are a profitable company.

- What makes up the profit?

Our income, like that of all investment companies, is formed from commissions and investment income on those projects where we enter with our own money. The money we earn covers our operating costs and the cost of holding the distressed assets that we get.

- Do you know the amount of delinquency on Sberbank loans in general?

I don't have general figures, as we only work with specific projects. Expert assessment - up to 6%.

- How is the system of working with problem debtors built in Sberbank?

As soon as the debtor ceases to service the debt, a signal about this goes to the department for working with problem assets in Sberbank and to us. We have our own investment committee. When a request is received from the bank on a particular topic, we consider this task at our investment committee, how interesting it is for us as a business project, whether we can save the bank’s money, the property that was transferred to us, and return the funds to the bank as much as possible. We have the opportunity to refuse to accept a project for work. If we see its futility, we believe that this opportunity has been missed, then this is already a matter of bankruptcy, the security service ...

- Collector?

Probably, yes, now the department for work with problem assets has set a course for the formation of a short list of collectors, management companies.

What criteria are used to select projects? Which overdue loans remain in the bank, which ones are transferred to Sberbank Capital?

Criteria such as the industry of the debtor or the scale of the problem are not taken into account. This is a movement in two directions. On the one hand, we evaluate all the problem assets of the bank, look at where, with proper work, it is possible to ensure the growth in the value of the asset to the greatest extent and return the funds to the bank. On the other hand, the most socially important problematic projects are immediately transferred to us for work, since the parent bank is interested in the quality management and development of such assets, primarily because of their social significance. In this case, we are no longer asked. Thus, it turns out that we work with the largest debtors. After we take on a project, we must decide what tactics to choose when working with this asset: act as a portfolio investor or a strategic one, whether to introduce our representatives to the board of directors, whether control over operations is necessary, etc. Specific tactics always depend on the situation in a particular company, on the quality of management, on the reasons why the company found itself in such a situation. In any case, we must find a solution that will contribute to the development of the company to the maximum extent. Sometimes for this you just need to substitute your shoulder, and sometimes you need to completely take control. Sometimes we see additional perspectives that can arise when combining several homogeneous assets under a single management. In such cases, we prefer to build it as a new business.

- For example?

Our first project is Alpi. The most difficult. As collateral [the bank] had stores that assigned us debt under cession agreements without a discount at face value, and then the debtors assigned us the entire network. Then we did a great job there, held a competition, hired a management company, re-signed a total of 620 contracts. Further work with municipal authorities, all network maintenance fell on us. And we had to do all this. At the same time, the loan is more than $200 million, and it is clear that it was very important for the bank to deal with this asset.

- What did you do after Alpi?

Then there was a major deal with Capital Group, as a result of which Sberbank Capital received 60,000 sq. m under the Moscow City project and 15,000 sq. m under the project "City of Yachts". Plus, we, as co-investors, are participating in the completion of this complex and are selling apartments in these two projects ourselves. And part of the loan money is used. Of course, we need to capitalize what we have received.

- How much money are you investing in this project?

Investments to complete the construction will amount to $180 million, of which [we invest] $90 million. Sberbank Capital is a co-investor in the project.

- Who gives credit?

Sberbank of Russia.

What volume of investments in general will be required for the development of projects that are of interest to Sberbank Capital? Source of funds? What are the plans in this regard?

Now it is impossible to evaluate. It depends on the type and scope of incoming projects.

- How many assets and for what amount are in Sberbank Capital?

To date, we have 11 projects under management or in operation with a total value of over $4 billion.

- How much are the projects awaiting decision?

Projects worth about $3 billion are being discussed right now. More projects totaling over $7 billion are on the way. This is something that is now in varying degrees of development.

Your clients are shaking, probably: you will work with them in such a way that you can solve the issue for your benefit, maybe keeping the shares?

I don't know if they are shaking or not...

Well, how can you not be afraid? It depends on you which asset the owner will lose, which one he won’t, and under what conditions…

First, it is always a matter of agreements and we are always for dialogue. Secondly, why be afraid of us - we are not raiders. We help. We will always choose a development option that will allow, albeit in the longer term, to fully return the funds of the parent bank and at the same time will allow us to maintain jobs and social stability in these companies. On the other hand, we always understand that we are solving the problem of returning funds to the balance sheet of the country's key bank, on the stability of which a lot depends.

- Which of these have already been decided (under what conditions), what is being decided? What's in pledge?

For obvious reasons, I can only talk in more detail about completed transactions. Alpi - restructured more than 6 billion rubles. debt, became the owners of 370,000 sq. m of space, manage objects. Global Ports - we own 10% of the shares, we participate in management. Orton Oil - restructured more than $800 million of debt, a real estate object (estimated at $27 million), which we manage, passed into our ownership. Polymetal - as part of the debt restructuring, we entered into an option on the company's shares with an expiration date of four years, we participate in the board of directors. Aurora Oil - the deal was closed, we own 5% of the shares, we participate in the management of the company. Mosmart - provided credit financing in the amount of 3.9 billion rubles, received a controlling stake in the company, and take part in the management of the company.

- What about Rolf? Do you have his shares?

No. We restructured a loan for $50 million. We assessed the risks, actively negotiated, and helped the bank come to certain mutually beneficial decisions.

- Sberbank Capital applied for a 50% stake in Barkley. Why couldn't we reach an agreement on this?

We closed the deal with Barkley last week by providing the company with a new loan of $160 million to repay a $110 million overdue loan to Sberbank. $30 million will be allocated to repay debts to other Barkley creditors. We received 51% of the shares as collateral companies, as well as investment rights to all developer sites for a total of RUB 7 billion.

One of your development projects is PIK. Why can't you come to an agreement with Kerimov, whose structures own the group's blocking stake?

Kerimov is not personally involved in the restructuring of this deal. We work with the management of Nafta-Moscow. The initial agreement was reached, now the deal is being detailed.

What have you already agreed on?

They received a state guarantee, and now the terms of debt restructuring are finally being shaken.

- Will you get a share in PIK?

It is not yet clear. In light of the creation of our own development subsidiary, we are also very interested in some of the projects in which PIK participates. It will be a comprehensive decision, it will be adopted in the near future.

- What is the loan amount of another large development company - Coalco?

I can't say right now, as negotiations to restructure Coalco's accounts payable are currently in progress.

- What is the situation with the Coalco loan?

Our land is pledged and GVSU is a large construction company [operating in Moscow and the Moscow region].

- Are you claiming a part of Coalco's shares, companies belonging to it, land, finished projects?

The process is very complex, various options are being considered. I must say that Coalco shareholder Mr. Anisimov is a very constructive negotiator.

Well, since he is such a constructive negotiator, why can't you agree? What are the fundamental differences?

The discrepancies are in the parameters of assessing what they have. In valuation of collateral. There are no other fundamental differences.

- That is, he is ready to part with Coalco shares? Are they on hold too?

You see, you go deeper into the details of the deal. And this is exactly the part that I cannot disclose until the completion of the transaction.

- When do you plan to complete the negotiations?

I hope that by mid-November we will complete and announce.

- Will the agreements with Coalco be approximately the same as with PIK?

There may be nuances. These are different companies.

- How are the negotiations on the restructuring of the loan "Don-Story" going?

We haven't agreed on anything yet. Their assets are being assessed. In order to negotiate, mutual agreement on the value of the collateral is required. I don't know specific numbers, still a work in progress. But we are participating in the negotiation process.

- But will you enter the capital too?

There are no solutions yet. There are several options for the development of events.

Tell us about the restructuring of Tsarev Sad, which is building a large office complex on Bolotny Island across from the Kremlin.

- "Tsarev Sad" is an object of construction in progress, which was transferred to Sberbank as part of the debt restructuring. This object has been in a frozen state for 10 years.

- Sberbank Capital and Urals Energy signed an agreement on the transfer of 100% of the shares of NK Dulisma to your company. Will you sell the company?

We will be thinking. This is our only oil asset. The total debt of Urals Energy is $630 million. We continue to work on its settlement. We will probably get another 35% of another asset of the company - Taas-Yuryakh oil and gas production. Now this package is being processed [to Sberbank Capital]. Then we will either consolidate all the oil assets that we have and sell them as a package. Or we will manage for some time and wait for their cost to grow. Because Dulisma needs to be managed now, the company needs to be prepared for the winter. We have chosen a management company, it deals with receivables, looks at who to pay, who not to pay, where the debt was artificially created. But it is already quite clear that: a) we will return the money and b) we will earn on these assets. The debt will be closed.

With whom else are you discussing debt restructuring or providing additional financing?

At various stages, we are currently negotiating with [such] companies: Mair (on whose [debt] rights of claim in the amount of 2.25 billion rubles were obtained), Aspek, Glavstroy, OAO Tamp / Samokhval ”, MosCity Group, VIM-avia, GT-CHP / Energomash - cost assessment, agreement on the structure and terms of the transaction with the owners are being carried out. Specialists of Sberbank Capital are also members of Sberbank's working groups on restructuring accounts payable of a number of other companies.

- Has the formation of the Sberbank Capital team been completed?

The formation of the team is close to completion. The backbone is 10 people who worked with me before, including at the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade.

- How many people do you employ?

There are 80 people in the main office in Moscow. Since we are creating a branch network, that is, subsidiaries of Sberbank Capital are opening in all territorial banks. Branches have already been opened in eight top-priority banks, where 75% of all accounts payable are actually formed. We are not going to expand the state to a gigantic size. Still, the idea is that Sberbank Capital should be a highly professional and not very big company even in the future. We resort to outsourcing where it is possible and effective. Where professional management companies are needed, we select them on a competitive basis. The next step after choosing a management company - where we have a lot of assets and we see great prospects - is the organization of a subsidiary.

- Does Sberbank Capital already have subsidiaries?

Yes. We have a "daughter" - the company "Savings Capital", which will be engaged in development projects. A separate subsidiary may be created from the metallurgical projects.

- Why metallurgical?

They suffered the most during the crisis due to falling commodity prices and are now the most promising in terms of recovering value.

- What assets can get into the metallurgical "daughter"? "Mair"?

It's too early to talk about it right now. The creation of such a company is in the plans.

- What "daughters" will be created?

In general, you do not have a dusty job. It is convenient to work with large clients. The same Vasily Anisimov is a comfortable negotiator, a big businessman. But if you take some problematic factory in the Yaroslavl region - the “frostbitten” owner withdraws assets, it is very difficult to knock out a debt from him and agree with him ... You don’t work with such people. Why? Because all you give is the gradual formation of an investment company with promising assets?

Precisely because we are an investment company. We do not have the task of turning into a collection agency - there are specialized departments and organizations for this. We do not have a task to turn into a financial and industrial group that would work in all sectors. Our task is to work with value, so it is quite logical that we work where the value of this factor is high for the parent bank. Another important factor is social. I want to say that the return of Sberbank money to Sberbank, which has 70 million depositors - the money of pensioners, the disabled, and so on, is no less important social task than saving some enterprise where an inefficient owner works. Of course, we feel a social function on ourselves. We cannot afford what some private banks can afford. Because we cannot be so aggressive in negotiations. Many enterprises have jobs, entire industries, and in the development business, for example, there are investors. PIK has 16,000 depositors. And we have no right to let such a company go bankrupt. This is the social function carried out by Sberbank. We, as part of Sberbank, provide our management and investment expertise in such projects and must ensure that this social function does not create losses for the parent bank. Often this is very possible, and we prove it with our projects.

What is the most difficult part of your work with distressed assets? Were there cases when the owners tried to "cunning" - to withdraw assets, etc.?

The most difficult thing is to negotiate with non-negotiable borrowers, who sometimes simply do not want to enter into constructive negotiations, and sometimes they try to withdraw assets from the company. But this is part of our job.

Were there cases when entrepreneurs tried to bribe you in one form or another in order to achieve more favorable conditions for themselves?

One way or another, most big business owners have known me personally for a very long time. Therefore, they do not take actions that would offend both me and them.

- Were there any attempts to bribe your employees?

Fortunately, no. Bye. Almost all the new people who came to the company and whom I did not know before, I personally interviewed. And he warned about the degree of responsibility, and about working with very difficult clients, and that, of course, there would be temptations. But I still hope that the motivation system that has been developed at Sberbank will allow people to work honestly. I just truly believe in it. And I think that people who have come here for a long time, want to work and have an interesting job, simply will not allow themselves to do so.

As a person dealing with problem borrowers, you should have an idea of the solvency of enterprises in the country. Do you think it is getting better?

It varies greatly across industries. I am not a macroeconomist and I cannot give an assessment for the entire country, since we are engaged in point projects. I can only speak in terms of the companies and industries I am involved in. For us, the main indicator of positive developments is the demand for our assets and the speed of return of funds. So, if we talk about retail, then in this sector we see a gradual recovery associated with the restoration of suppliers' confidence in retail chains, which were able to resolve the issue of reducing their debt burden. Retail sales are a constant cash flow, and here the main thing for retailers was to ensure regular deliveries and fill the shelves. In development, we see a revival in the sale of apartments. In September-October of the current year, we sold more apartments than were sold in the previous nine months. Metallurgy and the oil industry are recovering rather quickly, depending on global trends and export prices for raw materials.

In fact, Sberbank Capital is already carrying out this preparatory work, while restructuring problem loans while retaining promising assets. And when will Sberbank Capital become, as planned, an investment company - one of the largest in the country?

We already today think and act as an investment company. We are already considering some projects for direct investment. In my opinion, now is a good time to enter a number of projects. We are interested in projects with a yield of 25%. We try not to consider [projects with a yield] below this indicator. In general, we plan that within three years the private equity direction should be equal in business volume to the problem assets direction.

- Where do you plan to enter as investors?

As long as we look closely. No decisions have been made. Industries that are of interest are named.

That is, Sberbank is now ready to finance the purchase of new assets that have fallen in price during the crisis? Approximate amount of funds that Sberbank Capital is ready to spend on the acquisition of new assets?

Today, the key area, as I said, is the management of problem assets, which, believe me, is enough. Purchase of new assets - in the future.

- Do you have bonuses?

Of course, the team must be motivated for the result. This is an issue that is being resolved and, I think, will be resolved in the near future by the president of the bank. We are now determining the team's reward parameters depending on the results. I personally don't have any guaranteed bonus. You understand that in a crisis it is simply unethical to discuss your bonus.

- What is the driving force behind your work at Sberbank Capital? Would you like to stay with the company for a long time?

I would like to stay here just as long as I am needed here. That is, when a well-functioning mechanism is created, when, I hope, we get out of the crisis and become a full-fledged investment company, I think that at that moment I will be able to calmly leave.

You have already worked in a variety of positions, you have tried a lot of things. What will you do when your work at Sberbank ends? Are you going to retire?

I would like to believe in it. Those who know me say that I will not succeed. But I really want to believe in it. I will take care of my children, who now practically do not see me. I have three sons - 18, 16 and 9 years old. Seniors are students. When I can fully devote my time to my family, then I will be an absolutely happy person.