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Source: The trumpet
ussian businessman and former energy minister Igor Yusufov is poised to buy a German shipyard after state authorities and creditors agreed on a $56 billion contract, a fraction of the shipyard’s real value.
A global crisis in the shipbuilding industry forced Wadan Yards to file for bankruptcy in June. The proposed buyout foresees Yusufov founding a company called Nordic Yards, which will then take over Wadan Yards operations. Under the terms of the contract, over half of the 2,500 Germans formerly employed by Wadan are to be hired by Yusufov’s new company. Though the final deal remains to be signed, Wadan’s insolvency administrator, Marc Odebrecht, said that all parties have agreed on the terms.
In a meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev last week, German Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed the agreement and expressed confidence in the takeover.
Erwin Sellering, governor of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, home of Wadan, said that Merkel’s vote of confidence had been reassuring to the state, which is slated to provide about $50 billion in credit as part of the transaction.
Yusufov is close to the Kremlin. He is currently on the board of Gazprom, the Russian state-owned gas company. From 2001 to 2004, he was a cabinet minister, and later represented Russia in external economic relations and energy issues. Both Medvedev and Vladimir Putin have maintained close relations with him for much of their political careers.
Yusufov would buy the company in collaboration with his son Vitaly, currently in charge of the Moscow office of Nord Stream, the Gazprom-led Russo-German gas pipeline project.
The investors’ links to the Kremlin give them favor with German officials who believe that buyers so deeply entwined with Russia’s political leadership can ensure Russian state business at the shipyards.
Russian investors are also in negotiations to buy a stake in the German General Motors subsidiary, Opel. If the deal goes through, Canadian automotive company Magna International and Sberbank, Russia’s largest state-owned bank, would control Opel. During her news conference with Mr. Medvedev, Mrs. Merkel also voiced support for Magna-Sberbank’s bid for Opel.
During this global economic crisis, and as both Russia and Germany move toward expanding their spheres of influence, they are increasingly looking to each other.
Since Napoleon’s defeat brought the fifth revival of the Holy Roman Empire to its end in 1815, Germany has sought to secure its eastern borders by concluding treaties with Russia on several occasions before turning on the West. These economic collaborations today are part of increasing German-Russian ties that will lead to another such agreement.
ussian businessman and former energy minister Igor Yusufov is poised to buy a German shipyard after state authorities and creditors agreed on a $56 billion contract, a fraction of the shipyard’s real value.
A global crisis in the shipbuilding industry forced Wadan Yards to file for bankruptcy in June. The proposed buyout foresees Yusufov founding a company called Nordic Yards, which will then take over Wadan Yards operations. Under the terms of the contract, over half of the 2,500 Germans formerly employed by Wadan are to be hired by Yusufov’s new company. Though the final deal remains to be signed, Wadan’s insolvency administrator, Marc Odebrecht, said that all parties have agreed on the terms.
In a meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev last week, German Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed the agreement and expressed confidence in the takeover.
Erwin Sellering, governor of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, home of Wadan, said that Merkel’s vote of confidence had been reassuring to the state, which is slated to provide about $50 billion in credit as part of the transaction.
Yusufov is close to the Kremlin. He is currently on the board of Gazprom, the Russian state-owned gas company. From 2001 to 2004, he was a cabinet minister, and later represented Russia in external economic relations and energy issues. Both Medvedev and Vladimir Putin have maintained close relations with him for much of their political careers.
Yusufov would buy the company in collaboration with his son Vitaly, currently in charge of the Moscow office of Nord Stream, the Gazprom-led Russo-German gas pipeline project.
The investors’ links to the Kremlin give them favor with German officials who believe that buyers so deeply entwined with Russia’s political leadership can ensure Russian state business at the shipyards.
Russian investors are also in negotiations to buy a stake in the German General Motors subsidiary, Opel. If the deal goes through, Canadian automotive company Magna International and Sberbank, Russia’s largest state-owned bank, would control Opel. During her news conference with Mr. Medvedev, Mrs. Merkel also voiced support for Magna-Sberbank’s bid for Opel.
During this global economic crisis, and as both Russia and Germany move toward expanding their spheres of influence, they are increasingly looking to each other.
Since Napoleon’s defeat brought the fifth revival of the Holy Roman Empire to its end in 1815, Germany has sought to secure its eastern borders by concluding treaties with Russia on several occasions before turning on the West. These economic collaborations today are part of increasing German-Russian ties that will lead to another such agreement.
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