Aeroflot to Sell Stake in Aerofirst

Aeroflot to Sell Stake in Aerofirst

Published: October 17, 2012 (Issue # 1731)

MOSCOW — Aeroflot is selling its majority stake in Aerofirst, which runs duty-free shops and The Irish Bar at Sheremetyevo Airport, as it divests itelf of noncore businesses.

The Federal Anti-Monopoly Service has approved the sale of Aeroflot’s 66.67 percent stake to Ridis Holdings, Vedomosti reported Monday.

It is unclear how much Ridis paid for the stake, although a source at Aeroflot told the paper that Ridis had beaten several rivals’ bids for the stake at the auction, but did not say who the competitors were.

When Aeroflot acquired an additional 33 percent stake in Aerofirst from Sheremetyevo Airport in 2009, the retailer was valued at $49.2 million.

The sale is in line with Aeroflot’s policy of divesting non-core assets to concentrate on the airline business.

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