The formerly state-owned Estonian rail freight operator Operail was sold to Tiigi Keskus, a real estate company. The price of the transaction has finally been disclosed: 19 million euros. Now, the only remaining issue is the one concerning sanctioned wagons.
Operail’s sale to Tiigi Keskus was announced at the end of October, but some details, including the price, were still undisclosed. The privatisation of the company was a necessary step, since Operail was struggling financially, mostly due to the consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, becoming a burden on the state’s finances.
New owner Tiigi Keskus is reportedly going to take over as of today, 10 December. “At first glance, it’s clear that we need to step up container freight activities”, said Richard Tomingas, a member of the supervisory board at Tiigi Keskus in an interview with Estonian media ERR. The company set up a subsidiary, Railproject OÜ, for the acquisition of Operail. Merle Kurvits, already a board member at Operail will be the CEO.
Sanctioned wagons
The only Operail assets that will remain under the state’s ownership is a legal entity with no business operations. The company will maintain control of rail wagons used by Operail but owned by a Russian company. Due to the sanctions against Russia, these assets are considered frozen and cannot be used, returned, nor purchased. They will thus remain with the state, which will also cover the expenses related to asset freezing and legal proceedings, until a solution is found.