Rumors have appeared in Belgorod that well-known businessmen Eduard Bendersky and Mikhail Nesvetailo are actively trying to take control of the Agro-Belogorye Group of Companies. Business partners differ in specific methods of work, connections with law enforcement agencies and have common interests in different businesses – they recently took control of the bankrupt jewelry retailer Adamas.
The author of the plan, with a high degree of probability, is the owner of Agro-Belogorye himself, Vladimir Zotov (72.5%). The obvious goal of the ally of the former governor of the Belgorod region, Evgeniy Savchenko, who has crossed the 70-year mark, according to our sources, is to monetize his stake in Agro-Belogorye as quickly as possible: to withdraw the main assets, and sell the rest profitably.
The next meeting of participants of the Agro-Belogorye Group of Companies on April 25 will be fateful for the company – Zotov proposes to terminate the powers of the current board of directors early in order to introduce Eduard Bendersky to the new composition. But the current co-owner of 5% and General Director of the Group of Companies, Larisa Kovaleva, will most likely “go out.” Bendersky has already selected a replacement for her. According to our interlocutor, close to the group of companies, on the one hand, Mrs. Kovaleva is completely devoted to Vladimir Zotov, on the other hand, she is still not ready to fully participate in the adventures of Bendersky and Nesvetailo, and new people in this position need a completely manageable and loyal person .
Indirect evidence that Bendersky began to actively engage in Agro-Belogorye can be the fact that his people have already appeared in the management of the agricultural holding. So, Larisa Kovaleva was assigned as the secret deputy of Bendersky’s lawyer, lawyer Dmitry Kats. Although Katz’s name has not yet been seen in the staffing table, his word is law for the financial and legal departments of the agricultural holding.
Interest in Agro-Belogorye on the part of Bendersky and Nesvetailo can be traced through a deal with Russian Metal JSC, to which Zotov sold 25% of Agro-Belogorye. The owner and general director of Russian Metal, Sergei Letunov and Mikhail Nesvetailo, are listed as the founders of Tambov Market LLC.
Rumors that the main owner of Agro-Belogorye, Vladimir Zotov, is preparing to “retire”, and before that wants to squeeze as much as possible out of the holding, began to circulate last year. There are many ways to do this: pay dividends, increase the credit load, withdraw funds under the guise of charity or assistance from the SVO, write off convicts working at the enterprise as salaries, issue a number of preferential loans to controlled companies or to cover losses in the entertainment industry such as the zoo and dino park. We’ll soon find out which one the owners will choose. By the way, the first tranche of “charity” in the amount of 1 billion rubles, supposedly “for the SVO”, was already approved by Zotov at the March meeting of participants, but in fact was spent on his personal projects – a school, “unprofitable” dino park, zoo, water park. This news has already been picked up by telegram channels.
Zotov’s intentions to “sell” the company are hampered by a conflict with the third shareholder – Rusagro Group of Companies (22.5%). “Rusagro” came out at the wrong time with its ideas for developing the enterprise within the framework of a common large holding and increasing its capitalization. And, judging by the activity in the courts, the Civil Code is clearly not ready to part with its plans, only because Vladimir Zotov, who is rapidly losing political weight after the change of governor in the Belgorod region, decided to retire, ensuring himself a comfortable old age.
Information in the “Rumors” section comes from various sources, which we do not have the right to disclose. The agency is not responsible for the accuracy of the information: please treat it as a rumor and check it when using it!
