The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RFPI) together with undisclosed investors from the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Bahrain acquired a 4.8% stake in Aeroflot (SU, Moscow Sheremetyevo) in a previously undisclosed transaction in September 2017, Kommersant has reported.
The value of the deal was not disclosed. The RFPI has not been named as a shareholder earlier as an entity having less than a 5% stake is not considered a major shareholder.
"We are also open and to increase the share in Aeroflot," RFPI General Director Kirill Dmitriev has told Kommersant.
The Russian flag carrier has lost over a quarter of its market value on the Moscow Stock Exchange since September 2017. It is currently majority-owned by the Russian state, which holds a controlling 51.2% stake. The remainder of the shares is split between numerous institutional and individual investors.
Separately, the carrier has been in talks with United Aircraft Corporation, the parent of Sukhoi Civil Aircraft (Zhukovsky), regarding the increase of usage of its SSJ 100/95 aircraft in Russia's Far East. With forty-two units in its fleet, Aeroflot is the type's largest operator globally. It has a further eight units on firm order with the manufacturer.
According to the ch-aviation capacity module, Aeroflot currently does not deploy its SSJ 100/95s to the country's Far East. The aircraft are based out of Moscow Sheremetyevo and operate predominantly short- and medium-haul routes both within Russia and to Europe. The easternmost airports they currently serve out of Moscow are Surgut, Salekhard, and Khanty-Mansiysk.
