21 May 2004 08:44
OMZ TO SELL SUBSIDIARY OMZ-MNP
MOSCOW. May 21 (Interfax) - United Heavy Machinery (OMZ) has decided to sell its subsidiary company OMZ-Offshore
Oil/Gas Projects.
OMZ-MNP has been valued independently at 1.45 billion rubles, an estimate endorsed by the OMZ board of directors.
OMZ-MNP carries bank credits of around $70 million, and "OMZ's consolidated debt decreases by that
amount," a company press release reports.
A management buyout will be used in the subsidiary's sale, in line with rules the board has confirmed for
selling off non-core assets. So, the OMZ-MNP buyers will be a pool of over forty OMZ managers, among them Moscow and
regional chiefs.
OMZ is pursuing "strategic focus" on the production of energy equipment and selling off non-core assets not
directly related to this line of business, the release says.
The purchase of OMZ-MNP will take several steps. The managers will acquire 85% of the company. In the first phase, a
stake in the company will be acquired by a circle of leading company managers: Mikhail Aivazov, Vladimir Andriyashin,
Leonid Grabovets, Nikolai Zharkov, Mikhail Kosolapov, Sergei Lipsky and Sergei Nikolayev.
Subsequently, more than forth OMZ-MNP employees will join the deal. The stake will be paid for tin three tranches
over two months. The first payment will be at least 10% of the total deal cost.
"The management buyout looks the best for OMZ-MNP now, as it allows the company to cover expenses in buying
Skoda assets. On the other hand, we would not want to squander the company's pace of development. Management agreed
to acquire OMZ-MNP on terms that suit us, in line with the current valuation, so we made this decision," OMZ's
general director Yevgeny Yakovlev is cited by the press release as saying.
OMZ told Interfax that the subsidiary holds the controlling stock interest in Krasnoye Sormovo, Volgograd Shipyards,
Burovaya Tekhnika, Pavlov Machine Plant and 3rd Internationale Shipyards.
OMZ-MNP is involved in ship-building, engineering and oil and gas production projects, drilling platforms and
drilling tools. "To finance expansion in the field of energy machine building, the company management decided to
sell OMZ-MNP, which has ship-building and oil and gas equipment business," OMZ announced.
In line with "strategic focus," OMZ acquired assets in Skoda JS and the consortium Skoda Steel - Hute and
Kovarny, expanding the company's production of energy machinery and special kinds of steel.
[Interfax] |
RUSSIA IN FACTS
