Maersk has divested its logistics sites in Saint Petersburg and Novorossiysk, agreeing to sell both to IG Finance Development. This follows the logistics conglomerate’s decision in March 2022 to discontinue its activities in Russia.
The facility in Saint Petersburg is a 250,000ft² chilled and frozen warehouse while the other in Novorossiysk is a 94,000ft² inland depot specialising in handling commercial cargo from railway wagons to sea containers.
Registered in Cyprus, IG Finance Development agreed to acquire the properties and has made agreements with Russian food supplier Arosa to operate the facilities. With the transaction receiving approval from the relevant bodies in the EU and Russia, the deal is complete and IG Finance Development now have ownership of the sites.
In March 2022, Maersk announced that it had made the decision to discontinue its business activities in Russia against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine and European governments, including the UK, imposing sanctions on Russia.
This process began in August last year with the divestment of the company’s shares in Global Ports Investments – a Russian operator of container terminals.
With the announcement of the sale of these sites, Reuters reports that Maersk’s only remaining Russian assets are four tug boats owned by subsidiary Svitzer. Once the process of selling these – which is reportedly underway – concludes, the firm will have successfully ended its business in the country.
