The Phosagro company now confirms that it has acquired a 51 percent stake in the Nordic Rus Holding from Akron. The Nordic Rus Holding was established by Akron and Yara in 2007 in a bid to join efforts in the Russian fertilizer industry. It has been managed by the two companies on a 51-49 percent share basis. The two companies incluced their respective shares of the Apatite company (2,1% and 8,2%) in the joint venture.
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With its acquisition of Akron´s 51 percent stake, Phosagro significantly strengthens its position in Apatit, the major phosphate production enterprise in the Kola Peninsula. According to newspaper Vedomosti, the company is now likely to pursue its bid for control in Apatit with an attempt to take over the remaining share of the Nordic Rus Holding controlled by Yara.
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Phosagro has expressed an intention to boost its level of control in Apatit to 75 percent. Today, the company controls 50 percent of the company. The Russian state controls another 26 percent.
In 2003, Phosagro got involved in the Russian state´s controversial campaign against Mikhail Khodorkovsky and his associate Platon Lebedev. The official reason for the detention of the two business tycoons was their acquisition of a 20 percent state-owned share in Apatit, a deal which reportedly was made far below the company´s market value.
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As BarentsObserver previously has reported, businessman and senator for Murmansk Oblast Andrei Guryev owns an estimated 81 percent share of Phosagro.
