President Vladimir Putin signed a decree transferring the assets of the Rolf car dealer along with its shares to the interim management of the Federal Property Management Agency. Document sent It is included in the legal regulations portal and comes into force from the date of publication.
The decree refers to more than 660.7 million ordinary shares of JSC Rolf, owned by the Cypriot offshore company Delance Limited, and approximately 15.2 thousand ordinary shares of JSC Rolf, owned by Rolf Motors LLC. 100% of the company’s shares were transferred to the management of the Federal Property Management Agency.
Additionally, the dealer’s subsidiaries came under state control: Rolf Motors, Rolf Estate St. Petersburg and Rolf Tech.
Russian President Press Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov explained the president’s decision as “economic feasibility”.
“The reason for this is solely economic feasibility, compliance with the legislation of the Russian Federation, taking into account the well-known international economic situation that is currently around us,” he said.
Also within the company sureHe said the changes “will not affect the organization’s operations in any way.”
The Rolf company was founded in 1991 by businessman Sergei Petrov. He started his business selling Mitsubishi cars in 1992, and later became the distributor of this Japanese brand in Russia. Over time, Rolf grew into one of the largest car retailers in Russia. As of the beginning of 2023, there are 59 car dealerships in the network and 3 mega shopping malls for second-hand car sales.
Rolf based on 2022 results according to AutoBusinessReview withdrawn It ranks second in the ranking of the largest dealers in Russia. Before that, he served as the leader for many years.
criminal case
Rolf’s founder, Sergei Petrov, in connection with his election to the State Duma, transferred the management of the company to the Cypriot company Delance Limited. He became a member of parliament in 2007 and 2011, and left politics in 2015. Petrov moved to Austria in 2019 and received citizenship there. Wrote Forbes.
Also in 2019, the Investigative Committee spent As part of a criminal case regarding the transfer of money abroad using forged documents, Rolf was transferred to Moscow and St. Petersburg. Searches at their offices in St. Petersburg. At the same time, Rolf’s board member Anatoly Kairo was also detained. accepted 8.5 years in prison.
Petrov himself and former general director Tatyana Lukovetskaya also became defendants in the criminal case.
Some media outlets had previously named Sergei Petrov among businessmen supporting the Russian opposition; Petrov, also a politician, had criticized the actions of Russian officials. The businessman called the transfer of his assets into the ownership of the Federal Property Management Agency “legal illegality.” he is writing Forbes.
“I don’t know how investors in Asia, which we expect at the moment, will invest in Russia, how our investors will continue to invest and think long term.” – he said, adding that “the state is shooting itself in the foot” with such actions.
The businessman noted that he would consult with lawyers about the possibility of an international lawsuit.
Doesn’t concern customers
In December 2021, it was announced that Petrov would sell Rolf to another major Russian dealer, Klyuchavto. The deal was scheduled to be completed in the first quarter of 2022, but it never materialized after the start of the military operation in Ukraine and significant changes in the Russian automotive business. reported Interfax.
After the transfer of control of Rolf shares to the Federal Property Management Agency, it is more logical for the new owner to continue the dealership’s operations unchanged: Rolf is still profitable and operates normally, experts say.
“The company itself is successful. In my opinion, there was no economic reason to introduce external management. “In any case, according to the 2022 results, the company was quite profitable,” he said. — Editor-in-chief of the magazine “Behind the Wheel” Maxim Kadakov told socialbites.ca.
According to him, drivers who are affiliated with, serviced by, or looking to purchase a car from specific Rolf dealers have nothing to worry about. Oleg Moseev, the founder of the Automarketer project, believes that some turmoil in Rolf’s work was possible only with a change in the management of the company.
Rolf is one of the systemically important Russian enterprises. Moreover, it is owned by a Cypriot company located in an unfriendly area. The criminal case has not been closed yet, there is no decision on it. There are also questions about lending,” Moseev said in an interview with socialbites.ca.
Independent automotive industry consultant Sergei Burgazliev said that the Rolf company is a turning point for the Russian automobile industry; Major stated that, together with Independence and Genser, it has long been one of the four pillars that laid the foundation of the Russian automobile retail industry. According to him, Rolf has established a number of standards in the field of automotive management and management, and these practices are now successfully implemented by other dealer holdings. The interlocutor considers the dealer holding as a very profitable asset in terms of acquisition.
“The absolute good thing is that Rolf has developed modern business processes and always has a clear and distinct development strategy. In terms of the management team, Rolf was one of the strongest players in the Russian automobile market. He is still among the leaders of auto retailing, ”explained Burgazliev.
Can be sold to other dealers
The expert believes that to preserve the business, the Federal Property Management Agency should retain all top and middle management and allow them to work without administrative pressure. At the same time, he does not rule out that the transfer of the car dealership to external management is an interim solution, after which the asset can be sold at auction if potential buyers are found. Other major players in the Russian automobile market, such as Avilon, Major or Avtodom and AvtoSpetsTsentr group of companies, may also be interested in the acquisition.
“I believe large dealer conglomerates such as Avilona could acquire Rolf if the potential sale proceeds.
It is logical that managing such a business requires certain skills and competencies that the state and Federal Property Management Agency officials do not have. Another implementation of such an agreement could be the merger of Rolf with one of the automobile factories that does not operate in Russia. This will create a synthesis that Avilon is currently trying to create with the former Volkswagen plant and Avtodom with the former Mercedes-Benz plant,” Burgazliev said.