Kuban Agroholding is in talks with Chinese and Arab strategic investors and funds about the sale of a minority stake in the company. according to the managing director of its Basic Element’s agricultural division, Andrei Oleinik. In an interview in Kommersant, Oleinik claims that negotiations are under way with the China Investment Corporation (CIC) over the sale of “less than a controlling interest.” Capital raised from the sale would be used to increasing production volumes across the board and for R&D into seed production, the reproduction of breeding cattle by embryo transfer. Its decision to enter into talks with Asian and Arab investors was precipitated by lack of access to Western capital markets and and its inability to borrow money at home Oleinik explained.
One of the largest agribusinesses in the South of Russia, the company controls two modern dairy mega farms, ? 16,000 pig capacity breeding complex, three elevators with more than 270,000 tonnes of nonrecurrent grain storage capacity, three modern seed plants, a sugar factory and the Sunrise horse breeding farm. Basic Element is owned by billionaire and former metals trader Oleg Deripaska who is also President of the En+ Group and the world’s largest aluminium company RUSAL .
Kuban Agroholding in talks with Chinese and Arab investors
Source: rbth