The birth and death of "transaero" in pictures. Co-owner of S7 bought a controlling stake “Transaero How a profitable company became bankrupt
Alexander Pleshakov’s condominium in Florida was sold without the businessman’s knowledge.
Information about this deception is contained in MTS Bank's claim for 4.1 billion rubles. against Pleshakov, former first deputy general director of Transaero Alexander Krinichansky and the American company Sky Ocean International controlled by Pleshakov - the lawsuit is being considered by the federal court of the Southern District of Florida. Before the bankruptcy that occurred in 2015, Transaero falsified reports, received loans and used them, including for dividends, to Pleshakov and members of his family, MTS Bank told the court and demanded to disclose information about the assets of the defendants. The court satisfied the request, Pleshakov and Krinichansky appealed the decision.
The Sky Ocean company owned a condominium in Riviera Beach (Florida; purchased in 2010 for Pleshakov at his choice) at the Ritz Carlton hotel, according to court documents. The president of Sky Ocean was Russian lawyer Sergei Linkov, an old friend of Pleshakov and his personal adviser in 1998-2013, listed in the case file. Sky Ocean was 100% owned by Sky Stream from the British Virgin Islands, its owners and directors were Linkov and his wife.
In August 2013, Pleshakov filed a lawsuit in the High Court of the British Virgin Islands demanding the transfer of ownership of Sky Stream to him and the dismissal of Linkov and his wife, and won the case in November 2014. And Linkov, without waiting for a court decision, sold it in July 2014 without Pleshakov was aware of a condominium in Florida for $4.3 million, after taxes, the income was $4.07 million. But only $480,000 from this transaction remained in Sky Ocean’s accounts; Linkov spent $3.6 million on himself, according to the court materials.
“In the US, the practice of nominee ownership is rare; this service is provided by specialized companies; unauthorized actions with assets are very rare. Business owners who do not want to take on the risks of a shareholder usually transfer assets to a trust, the terms of which describe the rights of the creator and protector of the trust,” says Debevoise & Plimpton partner Alan Kartashkin.
Pleshakov needed a nominal owner to deceive the minority shareholders of Transaero, it follows from the court materials: in 2005, he, his wife and mother, controlled 38% of Transaero and wanted to buy more shares, but avoid the offer. On Linkov’s advice, he created and registered Sky Stream for him, and she bought 19.9%. And Linkov registered Sky Ocean specifically for the purchase of a condominium.
In March 2015, already under the control of Pleshakov, Sky Ocean filed a lawsuit against Linkov in the court of the 15th District of Florida to recover $10.9 million (triple damages, permissible under Florida law). There is no data on the outcome of the trial in the court database. A representative of MTS Bank declined to comment.
Linkov lives in Germany, in the commune of Heiligkreuzsteinach in the state of Baden-Württemberg. It was not possible to contact him. “Decisions of American courts that are not subject to challenge in the United States are usually enforced in Germany, but after recognition by a German court. This procedure can take several months, the German court must be satisfied that the decision of the Florida court was fair, for example that the defendant was notified and the decision does not provide for double or triple damages,” says Thomas Schurle, managing partner of the Frankfurt office of Debevoise & Plimpton .
Runaways
Alexander Pleshakov and his wife Olga left Russia at the end of 2015. Pleshakov admitted to the American court that he lives in Azerbaijan and the countries of the European Union. The Pleshakovs have Azerbaijani passports, creditor Transaero assures.
Ten million passengers
CJSC S7 Group of Companies is 100% owned by the founders of Siberia Airlines, Vladislav and Natalya Filev. Owns 97% of the shares of the fourth largest airline in Russia, Siberia Airlines, and 100% of the ninth largest airline, Globus (both operate flights under the S7 Airlines brand). In 2014, the group's airlines carried 10.06 million passengers. The total revenue of the companies in 2014 amounted to 86.1 billion rubles. , net profit - 1.39 billion rubles.
Creditors will think
Vladislav Filev told RBC that S7 shareholders “have a plan to resolve relations with Transaero’s creditors.” He refused to talk about the details of the plan, noting only that the new shareholders “will try with all their might to avoid bankruptcy of the airline.” Sberbank and Alfa Bank filed bankruptcy claims for Transaero at the end of last week and beginning of this week. Yesterday, the Kommersant newspaper reported that the company’s operator’s certificate could be revoked any day now.
Transaero's debt is about 260 billion rubles, of which 160 billion is due to aircraft leasing, 85 billion rubles. - for bank loans, the rest is debt to fuel companies, airports and service providers. When asked whether Transaero's creditors would resume negotiations on debt restructuring after the deal with Filev, a top manager of one of the banks - the airline's largest creditors - replied that it "depends on the conditions."
For the first time, information that the S7 group could take part in the rescue of Transaero appeared in early September. As RBC reported then, VTB representatives proposed transferring Transaero to the management of S7 at a meeting at the Ministry of Economic Development on September 2 - the very next day after at a meeting with First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov it was decided to transfer 75% plus one share of Transaero Aeroflot.
“This [transition of Transaero under the management of S7] would make it possible to better guarantee the rights of the carrier’s creditors,” a source close to one of the airline’s creditors told RBC at the time.
“Anything that does not lead to bankruptcy of the airline is good. So this deal is good news for Promsvyazbank. I hope that the new management will take into account the interests of Transaero’s creditors. The bank is ready for constructive negotiations on methods and possibilities for debt repayment and restructuring,” Vladimir Yashin, first deputy chairman of the board of Promsvyazbank, told RBC. Transaero's debt to Promsvyazbank amounts to 7.5 billion rubles, and the bank also holds four of the carrier's aircraft as collateral.
Chairman of the Board of Absolut Bank (Transaero's debt to the bank, according to RBC sources, is 2.7 billion rubles) Andrey Degtyarev told RBC that he “welcomes the deal.” “Absolut Bank, for its part, as one of the creditors, will make every effort to support the new owner and get Transaero out of the situation in which it finds itself,” Degtyarev said.
Troubled carrier
On September 1, an interdepartmental commission chaired by First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov decided to transfer Transaero to Aeroflot for a symbolic ruble. It was assumed that Aeroflot would ensure the fulfillment of obligations to transport passengers of its competitor, pay for the services of airports and fueling complexes, and pay wages to staff. Aeroflot was supposed to undertake servicing of Transaero's credit obligations only after agreeing on a loan debt restructuring program with banks. On September 3, the board of directors of Aeroflot accepted for consideration the offer of Transaero shareholders to sell the state-owned company 75% plus one share “at a price of the specified block of shares of no more than 1 (one) ruble.” The offer period, according to the decision, expired on September 28.
From the beginning of September, Aeroflot took control of the company. At the same time, it was headed by former deputy general director of Aeroflot Dmitry Saprykin. But after a couple of weeks it became clear that Aeroflot may not be able to save Transaero. Already on September 15, German Gref, chairman of the board of Sberbank, a consultant to Aeroflot and a major creditor of Transaero, said that bankruptcy of the debtor was not excluded. “By all indicators, Transaero is already bankrupt,” Gref said. Following him, officials started talking about bankruptcy. The offer from Transaero shareholders to Aeroflot expired on September 28, but the deal never took place.
Formally, the sellers failed to assemble the required package. Olga Pleshakova told RBC that her husband Alexander Pleshakov collected a little less than 60%, and the creditor banks - VTB (25% plus one share as collateral) and MKB, according to her, refused to remove the pledges from the shares.
On October 1, at a meeting with Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, a decision was made to bankrupt the airline. Aeroflot refused the deal, but committed to transporting its competitor’s passengers until December 15, or 95% of all customers; the rest were promised compensation. On the same day, the Federal Air Transport Agency banned Transaero from selling new tickets. After this, 12 creditor banks wrote a letter to Medvedev, in which they indicated that the bankruptcy of the airline would lead to a deterioration in the competitive environment and the quality of air transportation in the country, as well as to a significant underfinancing of the real sector of the economy on the part of creditor banks and leasing companies. Of these, six creditor banks on Monday turned to Pleshakova, who heads the board of directors of Transaero, with a demand to change the general director, since Saprykin, in their opinion, has an “obvious conflict of interest.”
The other day, two large creditors of Transaero - Sberbank and Alfa Bank - filed bankruptcy claims. VTB also announced its intention to file a bankruptcy claim.
With the participation of Elena Tofanyuk and Timofey Dzyadko
The creators of Transaero, Alexander and Olga Pleshakov, left the country, two sources told Forbes - a businessman and a federal official. According to one of them, the Pleshakovs left several months ago, but sometimes visit Russia. Also, Forbes’ interlocutor clarified, Pleshakov’s mother, head of the Interstate Aviation Committee Tatyana Anodina, also joined them. A third Forbes source in investment banking circles said the family now lives in France. It has not yet been possible to contact the Pleshakovs.
In early September, the decision that Transaero, which was in dire financial condition (the total debt as of mid-2015 amounted to 250 billion rubles), should come under the control of Aeroflot, was made at a meeting with the First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Igor Shuvalov with the participation of the company's main creditors: VEB, VTB and Sberbank. For 1 ruble, Aeroflot was supposed to receive 75% plus one share of the company by September 28 and take upon itself to solve the problems of Transaero passengers and staff.
In September, Transaero came under the operational control of Aeroflot, and Olga Pleshakova, who together with her husband Alexander Pleshakov owned the company, left the chair of Transaero's general director. However, the Pleshakovs were unable to collect the block of shares necessary to complete the transaction: to do this, it was necessary to come to an agreement with minority shareholders and VTB, which had 25% of the company’s shares as collateral. Aeroflot refused the deal.
On the evening of October 20, it became known that Transaero was interested in the co-owner of S7 Group, Vladislav Filev. He signed an agreement with Pleshakov providing for the sale of a 51% stake in Transaero to the co-owner of S7 Group, RBC wrote. The businessmen did not name the amount of the transaction, but Pleshakov said that it was significantly higher than 1 ruble - the symbolic amount of the proposed deal with Aeroflot.
The day after Filev and Pleshakov agreed on the deal, the First Deputy Prime Minister said that law enforcement agencies should pay attention to how Transaero found itself in the current difficult financial situation for the company. A few days later, on October 26, Rosaviation revoked Transaero’s operator’s certificate. Without this document, companies are not allowed to fly. Until last week, Transaero was under the operational control of Aeroflot, which organized the transportation of more than 90% of passengers who had airline tickets. Aeroflot also received 56 international destinations Transaero and 12 aircraft from its fleet.
On Monday, November 2 with Pleshakov, because he does not have the required 51% of Transaero shares. Olga Pleshakova posted an appeal from Alexander Pleshakov on her Twitter page, from which it follows that the 60-day transaction period provided for by the agreement between Filev and Pleshakov has not yet expired. In turn, Natalya Fileva, the wife and partner of Vladislav Filev, told Forbes that if Pleshakov collects the 51% required by Filev before the expiration of the agreement, the deal will take place.
– private airline, which began air transportation in December 1990. The company is one of the top ten in the world in ensuring flight safety.
Source: http:// .pro/blog/aviakompaniya-transaero
History of the Transaero companyThe company was founded in 1991 by the son of the USSR Minister of Radio Industry, Alexander Pleshakov, and since 2001 has been managed by his wife Olga.
Between them they own 36.6% of the company, another 3% belongs to Alexander’s mother Tatyana Anodina, chairman (MAK).
Transaero Airlines received the international safety certificate IOSA.
Introduction of the Imperial class on new generation aircraft joining Transaero's fleet - Boeing 777 and Boeing 747-400.
New Transaero flights were launched from Moscow to Krasnoyarsk.
The airline opened 12 new routes across Russia, to the cities of Blagoveshchensk, Irkutsk (it stopped flying in the fall of the same year), Kazan, Kemerovo, Magadan, Magnitogorsk, New Urengoy, Omsk, Samara, Ulan-Ude, Ufa, Krasnodar. As of June 2009, Transaero operated 16 flights across Russia.
For the first time, Transaero began flights to Mexico - to the famous world resort of Cancun.
Transaero has completely switched to e-ticket, abandoning the paper ticket that has become familiar.
The airline's fleet reached 57 units.
February - the shares of JSC AK Transaero were listed on.
April - official pages of the airline were created on social networks Facebook, VKontakte and a microblog on Twitter.
August - Transaero became the first customer of A320neo aircraft in Russia, the CIS and Eastern Europe. A memorandum was signed with Airbus for the purchase of eight A320neo aircraft with an option for 4 aircraft of this type. The catalog price of eight aircraft is $729 million.
October - the airline became the first customer of the largest passenger double-decker Airbus aircraft A380 in Russia, CIS and Eastern Europe, having signed a memorandum of understanding with Airbus. It was announced the acquisition of four aircraft of this type (catalog value 1.5 billion euros), expected delivery time - from the fourth quarter of 2015).
November - the airline was the first in Russia, the CIS and Eastern Europe to order 4 747-8 Intercontinental aircraft. Transaero plans to purchase airliners in a four-class configuration with big amount premium class seats.
December - Transaero acquires 4 Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft. The airliners will replace the Boeing 767.
The airline began operating flights from Vnukovo Airport.
The airline began flights to the following destinations: Los Angeles, Rome, Venice, Milan, Paris.
June - within the framework of the St. Petersburg Economic Forum, the airline signed a firm contract with Airbus S.A.S. for the supply of 4 A380 airliners (worth $1.7 billion) and with the enterprise " Civil aircraft Sukhoi" for the supply of 6 Sukhoi Superjet aircraft with an option for another 10 aircraft (worth $0.5 billion).
August - Transaero and Virgin Atlantic entered into a code-sharing agreement. In accordance with it, Transaero flights between Moscow and London will have a joint code UN/VS with Virgin Atlantic. At the same time, Virgin flights
In 2013, the company's revenue increased by 16%, net profit by 14%, to 1 billion rubles.
In terms of transportation volume, Transaero is second only to "" - in 2013 the company transported about 12.5 million people. The airline fleet consists of 103 aircraft, of which 20 are long-haul Boeing 747s.
It is based at Moscow's Vnukovo and Vnukovo airports, also forming an additional hub at St. Petersburg airport. Operates passenger and cargo flights throughout Russia, as well as international flights medium and long distances to the countries of Europe, Asia, North and Latin America.
Transaero service classes- Imperial
- Business
- Premium class
- Economy class
- Tourist class
- Class "Discount"
Website: http://transaero.ru/
VK: https://vk.com/transaero
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/transaero
Tel.: +7 495 788 8080
Tel.: 8 800 555 3 555 (free within Russia)
That 75% plus 1 share of Transaero will be bought by Aeroflot for 1 ruble. At the same time, Transaero’s debts, together with leasing contracts, had reached 260 billion rubles by this time. The Vedomosti newspaper publishes the story of how the owners of the air carrier - the Pleshakovs - built and lost the company.
In 1992, the Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC) was created, which was involved in the certification of aircraft, airports, development of airworthiness standards and investigation aviation accidents. Its chairman was Tatyana Anodina, the mother of the future general director of Transaero Alexander Pleshakov, and part-time aviation general, former head of the technical department of the USSR Ministry of Civil Aviation. “Tatyana Grigorievna knew everything about how the complex air transportation business works. In contrast to the pilots who led hundreds of air squads into which Aeroflot was divided in the 1990s, it is the only air carrier in the USSR,” says Infomost CEO Boris Rybak.
Transaero's first flight took place on November 5, 1991 on a leased Tu-154 on one of the most profitable routes - to Israel. Using the money earned during the year of flights, Transaero purchased its first Il-86 in 1992 and opened the Moscow - Norilsk route.
In 1997, Transaero signed an agreement with Boeing to prepare a contract for the supply of 40 new aircraft. “The company was lucky - it did not manage to buy a single new Boeing. Otherwise, the story of Transaero could have ended when the crisis broke out,” says Alexei Sinitsky, editor-in-chief of the Aviatransport Review magazine. By the 1998 crisis, Transaero had 17 Boeing 737s, the average age of which was more than 20 years.
Back in 1997, Transaero registered the aviation company Transaero, whose board of directors included two representatives of the oligarch Boris Berezovsky. Over the course of several years, Berezovsky’s structures were able to consolidate almost 44% of the shares, and then the company was supported by the Chairman of the Federation Council, Governor Oryol region Egor Stroev. In 2000, the oligarch had to leave Russia, and Stroev helped the company save on taxes: by his order, Transaero was provided with tax breaks to the local budget in the amount of 50% for reconstruction obligations local airport and the opening of regular flights from Orel to Moscow. The airport has not been reconstructed.
In 2004, the airline changed its registration to St. Petersburg; the Pleshakovs bought out Berezovsky’s share in 2005–2006, which, according to Vedomosti, could have cost them 2.5 billion rubles.
The Pleshakovs gained full control of Transaero by 2006. A year earlier, the aircraft fleet was restored to the 1997 level - 17 aircraft. By 2010, their number reached 59. Moreover, by the end of 2009, the airline’s net debt was five times higher than EBITDA. And Transaero showed profit from 2007 to 2015 only once - in 2011. Analysts noticed the first signs of a crisis in Transaero in 2013 - then the company, with a long delay and auditor reservations, published its IFRS reports. “And in 2014, when events began in Ukraine and the economic situation began to deteriorate more and more rapidly, especially at the end of the year, it became clear that Transaero would not survive,” says Rybak.
One of the publication’s sources claims that around that time the Pleshakovs first offered to buy out their business for $300 million, a year later reducing the offer to $100 million.
In October 2014, Sberbank announced the organization of a syndicated loan in the amount of up to 45 billion rubles to refinance the company’s debt. In addition, after Transaero received state guarantees for 9 billion rubles of a loan from VTB and refused a loan from Sberbank, starting negotiations on new state guarantees for large amounts - up to 70 billion rubles, but, according to the publication's sources, the fate of the company had already been decided. “But creditors and the government were afraid to immediately take tough measures against Transaero - otherwise half the country would not come back from vacation,” says one of them.
“Shuvalov simply ran out of patience at a certain point,” says the federal official and notes that no one in the government or state-owned creditor banks understood what business model the Pleshakovs were talking about, and it became clear that the prospect of stopping flights and strikes was becoming real. employees. Therefore, Shuvalov transferred the passengers to Aeroflot; only this company would have enough capacity to transport such a number of people.
“I think that for Alexander Petrovich Pleshakov the offer to sell the company for 1 ruble at a government meeting was a surprise. But he stood up and said that if the banks were not otherwise ready to restructure the debts, then he was ready to cede the company, let the banks talk to another shareholder and that he was grateful to Aeroflot,” says Vitaly, chairman of the board of directors of Vnukovo airport and minority co-owner of Transaero Vantsev.
After purchasing a 75.1% stake in Transaero, Aeroflot plans to reduce the acquired airline's fleet of aircraft by 70%, optimize routes and restructure debts.
Pleshakova and Anodina did not respond to Vedomosti’s requests.