Russian Tycoon Mordashov Transfers $1.4 Billion TUI Stake

(Bloomberg) -- Russian oligarch Alexey Mordashov shuffled his $1.4 billion holding in TUI AG, part of a series of transactions in the past week after he was slapped with European Union sanctions.

Mordashov’s Unifirm Ltd., based in Cyprus, transfered a 4% stake in TUI to his Russian investment vehicle Severgroup LLC, according to a statement from Europe’s biggest holiday-tour company.

Holdings in Unifirm, which retains a 30% stake in TUI, were sold to a company based in the British Virgin Islands, Ondero Ltd., according to TUI filings. The stake remains affiliated with Mordashov. A spokeswoman for the Russian billionaire declined to comment.

Mordashov is among a number of wealthy Russians who have had to shelter assets or divest them as real or threatened sanctions zero in on businessmen perceived to be close to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Italian authorities Friday said they seized a yacht worth 65 million euros ($71 million) owned by Mordashov. 

The transactions involving the TUI stake occurred on Feb. 28, the day Mordashov was included in a list of Russians targeted by EU sanctions. Those measures bar named people from matters such as voting or receiving dividends.

The steel tycoon stepped down from the supervisory board of TUI, which he rescued in 2020, on March 2. Vladimir Lukin, a former board member of Mordashov’s Severstal steel company, also left TUI’s board. 

Filings in the U.K. this week showed that Mordashov had shifted control of a roughly $1.1 billion stake in mining company Nordgold to his wife.

TUI said in an October filing that Unifirm was 65% owned by KN-Holding LLC, the holding firm of Mordashov’s sons Kirill and Nikita. The rest of Unifirm was held by Severgroup and Mordashov’s Rayglow Ltd. 

KN-Holding and Rayglow have sold their stakes in Unifirm, according to the statement.

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