Putin transferred the subsidiaries of Ariston and Bosch to temporary management of the Gazprom structure

President Vladimir Putin transferred 100% of the shares in the authorized capital of Ariston Thermo Rus LLC, owned by the Italian Ariston Holding NV, as well as 100% of BSH Household Appliances LLC, owned by the German BSH Hausgerate GmbH, under the temporary management of Gazprom Household Systems JSC. The corresponding decree was published on the legal information portal. The document came into force from the moment of publication.

Bosch (parent company of BSH Hausgerate GmbH) announced the suspension of operations in Russia in March 2022. In total, Bosch had seven factories in Russia. In April 2023, S8 Capital of Armen Sargsyan acquired the Russian assets (factories for the production of spark plugs and power tools and a site for the production of heating boilers) of the company in Engels. The Robert Bosch Samara plant was acquired by the Research Automobile and Motor Vehicle Institute, subordinate to the Ministry of Industry and Trade. In December 2023, Kommersant wrote that Bosch was in the final stages of selling its factories in Strelna near St. Petersburg to the Turkish investment fund Can Holding.

In April 2024, Vedomosti learned that Bosch had found bidders for the purchase of its headquarters in Khimki, near Moscow. The publication’s interlocutors reported that the purchase of a building in Khimki with an area of ​​57,000 sq. m 12 companies applied, but then their number was reduced to two, these are Gazprombank and S8 Capital.

Ariston in Russia had one plant in Vsevolozhsk, Leningrad region. There was no information that the company had reduced production in Russia.

BSH Household Appliances has been operating in Russia since 1994. The company produced more than 1 million refrigerators and washing machines per year and was engaged in servicing household appliances of four brands: Bosch, Siemens, Gaggenau and Neff.

JSC Gazprom Household Systems, according to information on the company’s website, produces household appliances under the brands Flama, Darina, Tessa, Lada Nova and “is the largest manufacturer of household gas equipment in Russia.” Owned by PJSC Gazprom. Gazprom Household Systems includes the Tchaikovsky branch, the Balakirevsky branch, as well as the Kanevsky Gas Equipment Plant LLC.

In April 2023, President Vladimir Putin signed a decree introducing temporary management of property of persons from “unfriendly” countries in the event that in these countries Russia or Russian individuals and legal entities are deprived of property or there is a threat of deprivation or restriction of property rights or property rights of Russians in “ unfriendly” countries. According to the decree, movable and immovable property of foreign persons in Russia, securities and shares in the authorized (share) capital of Russian legal entities, as well as property rights belonging to persons of “unfriendly” states may fall under temporary management.

The day before, on April 25, Putin said that the return of assets to state ownership is justified in cases where their owners threaten the security of the country with their behavior; there is no talk of revising the results of privatization. “Recently, law enforcement agencies have opened a number of cases to return some assets to state ownership. “I would like to emphasize that we are not talking about revising privatization, but about cases where the actions or inactions of the owners of enterprises and property complexes cause direct damage to the country’s security and national interests,” he said.