Three months after the acquisition Freight One, Russia’s largest rail freight operator, state-owned bank VTB has sold it to an undisclosed buyer. The deal is to be finalised before the end of the year, VTB’s head Andrei Kostin said.
VTB’s plan never seemed to entail keeping Freight One under its umbrella, as also highlighted by Ukrainian media InterFax. The bank took over management and ownership of the operator between August and September 2024. The parent company, Aurora Invest, purchased Freight One in November 2023 for 220 billion rubles (roughly 2.1 billion euros) in a deal that involved the bank as well.
However, VTB grew dissatisfied with the organisation of the deal, with reports of promises made to the parties involved and credits, including the bank, that were not met. Already in February, Freight One pledged nearly 70,000 wagons as collateral to the bank to cover for its parent company’s financial obligations. Other than the buyer, the financial figures of VTB’s sale remain undisclosed.