(Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin has authorised the transfer of German airport operator Fraport’s 25% stake in St Petersburg’s Pulkovo Airport to an unidentified party, a decree published on Friday showed.
A Fraport spokesperson said the approval was an “important, intermediate step”, but cautioned that a successful transaction would depend on additional conditions and approvals, which the parties have agreed to keep confidential.
The Kremlin has seized other Western assets since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and installed Russian management teams, most notably with Danish brewer Carlsberg and French yoghurt maker Danone.
Putin put the airport under the temporary management of a newly set up Russian holding company in December 2023, wresting control from investors from Germany, Qatar and other Gulf states.
Fraport suspended its investment in Pulkovo and all activities linked to the investment immediately after the war in Ukraine started.
The company fully wrote off its receivables arising from the loan for its investment in June 2022, but is still seeking to recover its assets related to the investment and is trying to sell its shares.
(Reporting by Gleb Stolyarov and Alexander Marrow, Editing by Louise Heavens)