NPF "Welfare" and Alexei Taicher signed a deal to sell "Transfin-M" for 35 billion rubles

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

The new owner of the leasing company is a design company - "TFM-guarantor". Its main beneficiary is Alexey Taicher. He is known for taking the post of general director of the subsidiary of Russian Railways - the Federal Freight Company, brought it out of a loss and made FGK a leader among rail operators. Now Alexey Taicher is also a co-owner of the SG-trans company, which is a major player in the railway market. According to unofficial information, a loan for such a large operation was issued by VTB Bank. The valuation of the company's assets has already been carried out, and experts agreed on a figure of approximately 35 billion rubles. The same figure was also voiced by a representative of the Welfare Foundation.

Transfin-M is one of the top 5 leasing companies in Russia

And provides financial lease for railway cars, aviation equipment and vehicles of various carrying capacities. Railcars are the main asset of the company, and their number as of January 2019 is 61000 pcs. The company has several subsidiaries that directly manage the rolling stock. According to data for 2018, the Transfin-M portfolio is 290 billion rubles, while this figure has been growing throughout the reporting year. Profit amounted to 4.4 billion rubles. The company has an excellent financial position in the Russian market. It has already attracted the attention of experts who have analyzed its liquidity, assets and compliance with the terms of obligations. Such conclusions were made by specialists of the Expert-RA rating agency back in June.

Why is such a successful company being sold?

The Central Bank since last year changed the rules for regulating non-profit pension funds. Now each fund must undergo a stress testing procedure. Therefore, many Russian funds are forced to reduce the concentration of investments in their companies, since with a large percentage of investments in one corporation, it is difficult to meet the requirements of the Central Bank. According to information from a person close to the management of the fund, its total portfolio is about 400 billion rubles. Of these, the share of Transfin-M is at least 14%.

This is not the first attempt to sell a leasing company. As soon as the Central Bank put the fund in front of the need to meet the new conditions, the search for a buyer began. The deal could have taken place even before the first stress test on January 1, the next one is scheduled for July 1. It is important for the fund to have time to complete the deal before this date.

After the sale of "Transfin-M" will continue its activities in the financial lease market. A representative of the company has already made a statement about this, and people close to him are also talking about this.to the fund.

According to analysts, rates for the provision of gondola cars over the past year and a half have grown by almost a quarter - they are the most in the rolling stock of Transfin-M. More impressive growth is shown by covered wagons - 30-35%, and the cost of providing oil tankers has increased by almost half - 40-45%. Toward the middle of the current year, rates have found stability. In the Kemerovo region, at the stage of unloading from Kuzbass in the southern and western transport direction, prices even go down. This is due to low coal prices in the European market.

According to analysts' expectations, after the sale of Transfin-M, the cost of renting and providing wagons will not increase, even a slight decrease is possible. Now it is important for the company to retain regular customers and maintain the full load of railcars. The further market policy of the company is influenced by its high credit load. The scheme of the transaction chosen by the sellers is also taken into account: the company's shares are received by managers, and the funds for this are taken from a VTB loan. Only the operation of the company and the cars at full capacity will help to quickly reduce debts.

Who is Tycher?

Aleksey Taicher is a good manager who prefers long-term strategies. He knows how to find and keep regular customers. Among the successful examples of his activities is a joint venture with a key customer of SG-trans - Sibur. According to experts, after the change of ownership in Transfin-M, restructuring and a change in business orientation are possible. The most likely option is to rejectaviation leasing and entering a new financial lease market - in water transport.