Sheremetyevo Airport in Moscow has emerged as the successful bidder for its nationalized counterpart, Domodedovo, following a significant reduction in the asking price by the Russian government after an unsuccessful auction, Russian media reported on Thursday.
The final price for Domodedovo, which ranks as Russia’s fourth-busiest airport, was reduced to 66.1 billion rubles (approximately $880.2 million) from an initial figure of 132 billion rubles after last week’s auction failed to attract any participants, according to the RBC news website.
The successful bid came from Perspektiva, a subsidiary of Sheremetyevo International Airport, which was one of the two entities vying for DME Holding, the parent company of Domodedovo.
Sheremetyevo is owned by a company associated with Arkady Rotenberg, a close associate of President Vladimir Putin.
Perspektiva outbid Moscow International Airport, a management firm linked to Vnukovo Airport, as reported by RBC, citing two insiders familiar with the auction process.
According to the auction conditions, the purchaser has a five-day window to finalize the sales agreement and must complete the ownership transfer within 30 days following payment. If the deal is not concluded, the auction results would be invalidated, and a deposit of 26.45 billion rubles would be forfeited, RBC mentioned.
In June, a court determined that ownership of Domodedovo would be transferred to the Russian state on the basis that its two owners were foreign nationals who lacked the rights to manage the airport.
Dmitry Kamenshchik, the airport’s long-time owner, resided in Turkey and the United Arab Emirates during 2022-2023, while co-owner Valery Kogan holds dual citizenship in Russia and Israel.
Kamenshchik reportedly filed a challenge to the nationalization in Russia’s Supreme Court on January 23, just three days after the initial auction failed.
Andrei Ivanov, a former minister who took over the management of the nationalized airport, stated in July that Domodedovo had accumulated substantial debts due to a decline in passenger numbers and revenue.
Sheremetyevo estimates these debts exceed 75 billion rubles.
RBC noted that the official announcement regarding the results of Thursday’s auction is anticipated on Friday.
