The Polymetal holding entered into an agreement to sell its Russian business, valued at $3.69 billion including debt, to the Mangazeya Plus company. The deal will be closed by the end of March 2024, the company said in a statement.
The transaction amount consists of a total cash consideration of $1.479 billion, which must be paid from JSC Polymetal (Russia) to Polymetal Int. All payments will be made in Russian rubles through financial organizations that are not targeted by sanctions.
After the announcement of the deal, Polymetal shares fell for two days in a row.
Polymetal's plan to sell Russian assets emerged after the company was included in the US sanctions list. In order to eliminate risks associated with restrictions, the holding company re-registered from Jersey Island to Kazakhstan.
According to the group’s CEO Vitaly Nesis, Polymetal decided not to consider Russian companies that are more or less under sanctions from Western countries as buyers for its assets.
Theodor Lisovoy, Editor in Chief of the European bureau, Rough&Polished