RUSSIA: Aeroflot Sold 4.8% Shares To Secret Investors

Russia’s largest airline Aeroflot has sold 4.8% of its shares to an undisclosed buyer.

The shares in question belonged to the carrier’s subsidiary Aeroflot Finance.

The shares represented a quasi treasury stock used for voting purposes by the airline’s management.

The impending sale of this stock had been mentioned previously in the context of Aeroflot’s upcoming privatization.

The shares were sold within 24 hours after the airline announced the intention on September 19.

The transaction brought the carrier’s publicly traded stock up to to 45.8%; its capitalization reached $1.583 billion.

The deal gained Aeroflot 9.8 billion rubles ($168.9 million).

The money will be spent on general corporate needs.

Kommersant reports that the initial plan was to sell the stock along with the shares held by Rostec Corporation.

The transaction was supposed to be part of a plan aimed at diluting the state’s share in Aeroflot to 50% +1 share.

The plan had been approved by President Vladimir Putin in 2014.

At present, the Russian government holds 51.2% in the airline through the Federal Agency for State Property Management.

Rostec’s share stands at 3.3%; a further 6.1% of shares is in the hands of private holders.

The planned privatization is to leave the state with the blocking stake of 25% +1 share.

However, last year the Ministry of Economic Development annmounced it would not reduce the government’s participation in Aeroflot before 2020.

In the first half of this year, Aeroflot Group which also owns Rossiya Airlines, Aurora Airlines, and Pobeda Airlines reported a 17.1% net profit increase to 2.890 billion rubles.

The group’s EBITDA decreased 48.7% to 15.403 billion rubles over the same period.



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RUSSIA: Aeroflot To Acquire Six New Boeing 777s

Russia’s Aeroflot Group intends to acquire six new Boeing 777-300ER (Extended Range) widebodies.

The plan will be submitted to the next Board of Directors meeting, which is scheduled for August 31.

Together with the expected deliveries of five new Airbus A350s, the planned acquisition would expand the group’s widebody long-range fleet by 20%.

It has not yet been disclosed which of the group’s subsidiary carriers will get the new Boeings.

Flag carrier Aeroflot currently operates 16 777-300ERs, while sister company Rossiya Airlines has one 777-200 an five 777-300s.

No details have been revealed as to the possible delivery schedule. Aeroflot’s May 2017 investor presentation suggested that five of the Boeings could enter service with the airline in 2018.

The previous contract, for 16 of the type, has now been completed, with all the airliners delivered between February 2013 and June this year.

Another issue to be discussed by the upcoming meeting is Aeroflot’s plan to sell four Airbus A321s, serial numbers 3267 (VP-BUM), 3334 (VP-BUP), 4099 (VQ-BEE), and 4148 (VQ-BEI).

All four are equipped with CFM International engines.

According to open sources, Aeroflot has been the sole operator of these aircraft, and their age ranges from 7.7 to 9.9 years.

The average age of Aeroflot’s fleet currently stands at 4.3 years.

The total fleet of Aeroflot Group, whose subsidiaries also include Pobeda Airlines and Aurora Airlines, is currently nearing 300 aircraft not including the six Antonov An-148s and a single An-24 that the group is subleasing.

Plans for this year included taking delivery of 59 airliners and phasing out 19. The planned numbers for 2018 are 45 and 17 aircraft, respectively.




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Pobeda Starts International Flights

Aeroflot subsidiary Pobeda airline can begin international flights in the winter of 2015 to CIS countries, the Balkan region, Germany and Italy, a source in Aeroflot told TASS Wednesday.

"This will be possible in case restrictions of the Federal Aviation Regulations are lifted," he said. Now, according to the requirements, the airline can gain admission to carry out international flights only after it has been carrying out flights for two years.

Pobeda airline plans to transport 2.8-3.2 mln passengers in 2015. By 2018, the fleet may consist of about 40 aircraft and the volume of passenger traffic will reach 10 mln people per year, allowing the company to enter the top five Russian airlines. Currently the company’s fleet consists of 11 Boeing 737-800.

RUSSIA: Russian Federation Refuses Pobeda Airlines To Fly To Turin

“The Interdepartmental Commission at the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation has refused "Pobeda" to perform regular flights to Turin”, - according to the published order of the Federal Air Transport Agency on Tuesday.

The carrier requested admittance of flights on this destination 7 times a week. The airline companies "Siberia" (S7 group) and "Ural Airlines" also claimed to this slot. As a result, according to the order, the first company received 5 frequencies per week, the second one - 2.

It was reported earlier, that "Pobeda" gained admission to 7 frequencies per week to another Italian city - Pisa. Flights on this route the company plans to open in the winter schedule 2016/2017. Currently, "Pobeda" performs flights to Milan.

"Pobeda" is a low cost carrier of "Aeroflot" group. Flights are performed by 12 Boeing-737-800 to 58 destination, including 8 international: to several cities in Germany, Spain, Italy, Slovakia, Montenegro and Cyprus.