PhosAgro

PhosAgro is a Russian chemical holding company producing fertilizer, phosphates and feed phosphates. The company is based in Moscow, Russia, and its subsidiaries include Apatit, a company based in the Murmansk Region and engaged in the extraction of apatite rock.

JSC PhosAgro
Native name
ОАО «ФосАгро»
Public (OAO)
Traded asMCX: PHOR
LSE: PHOR
ISINUS71922G2093 
IndustryChemical
Founded2003
HeadquartersMoscow, Russia
Key people
Xavier R. Rolet KBE,(Chairman)
Andrey A. Guryev, (CEO)
ProductsFertilizer
Revenue$3.11 billion[1] (2017)
$919 million[2] (2016)
$893 million[2] (2016)
Total assets$3.42 billion[2] (2016)
Total equity$1.32 billion[2] (2016)
Number of employees
5,001
Websitewww.phosagro.com

Phosagro is one of the world’s leading producers of phosphate-based fertilisers. The Company is Europe’s largest producer of phosphate-based fertilisers, the world’s largest producer of high-grade phosphate rock and the world’s second largest producer (excluding China) of MAP and DAP (according to Fertecon), Russia’s only producer of feed monocalcium phosphate (MCP), and also the sole producer of nepheline concentrate in Russia.

In 2016, PhosAgro was ranked as among the 17th best out of 92 oil, gas, and mining companies on indigenous rights and resource extraction in the Arctic.[3]

Ownership history

The original owner of Phosagro's assets (most notably Apatit, a Soviet era mining company) was now exiled Russian billionaire Mikhail Khodorkovsky's via his company, Menatep.

In 2003, Mikhail Khodorkovsky was arrested for tax evasion and fraud and the charges against him were ostensibly connected to Menatep's purchase of shares in Apatit. However, many also saw the charges as punishment for publicly clashing with Vladimir Putin.[4]

During Khordorkovsky's trial, the state seized Menatep's stake Apatit.[5] In 2004, Andrey Guryev, who at the time ran Apatit on behalf of Khordorkovsky's Manatep and was also a Russian senator, wrote a message to Khordorkovsky in prison to convince him to sell his remaining 50% stake in Phosagro to Guryev. Khordorkovsky allegedly sold his shares to Guryev for a low price.[6]

In July 2011, Phosagro raised $538 million in a London IPO.[7]

In 2012, Phosagro paid $344 million at a state tender to buy back a 26.7% share in Apatit, bringing the company's ownership to 76%.[8]

As of 2012, Andrey Guryev and his family owned 65.47% of Phosagro via various trusts.[9]

PhosAgro is 19.35% owned by Vladimir Litvinenko,[10] who oversaw Vladimir Putin's doctoral thesis in 1996.[11]

Subsidiaries
  • Apatit
  • Ammophos
  • Cherepovetsky Azot
  • BMU (Balakovskyie Mineralnyie Udobrenia)
  • PhosAgro-Trans

United Kingdom controversy

In June 2017, Igor Sychev, a former head of tax department of Phosagro, presented a claim against Phosagro to the London High Court of Justice. In his claim he demanded 1% of the company’s shares or their value in cash (approximately $55 million, and also $8 million in cash to serve as his remuneration for having previously defended PhosAgro interests in court).[12]

According to Sychev's statement, the conflict started after he didn't receive the agreed remuneration for defending Phosagro's interests in court.

The defendants in the London court case are Andrey Guryev, PhosAgro's Vice president of the Board of directors, and another member of the board Igor Antoshin, together with some offshore companies based in Seychelles and Belize. A London judge has given permission to open proceedings against the defendants.[13]

In October 2019, another lawsuit was launched against Phosagro in the London High Court. Alexander Gorbachev, a Russian businessman and former senior executive at Phosagro, is suing the company for what he alleges is his rightful share of the business, a stake that is worth £1 billion at today’s market value. The full trial will be heard in the High Court in 2020-2021.[14]

References
  1. "Рейтинг крупнейших компаний России по объему реализации продукции". Expert RA. Archived from the original on 28 October 2018. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  2. https://www.phosagro.com/investors/reports/get/item13417.php.
  3. Overland, Indra (2016). "Ranking Oil, Gas and Mining Companies on Indigenous Rights in the Arctic". ResearchGate. Arran. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  4. Caesar, Ed (2015-05-23). "London's Most Mysterious Mansion". ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 2019-11-18.
  5. "Phosagro buys stake to secure fertiliser component supplier". Reuters. 2012-09-05. Retrieved 2019-11-17.
  6. Caesar, Ed (2015-05-23). "London's Most Mysterious Mansion". ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 2019-11-17.
  7. "Phosagro raises $538 million in London IPO". Reuters. 2011-07-13. Retrieved 2019-11-18.
  8. "Subscribe to read". Financial Times. Retrieved 2019-11-17.
  9. "Subscribe to read". Financial Times. Retrieved 2019-11-18.
  10. "Shareholder Information". PhosAgro. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
  11. "It All Boils Down to Plagiarism". Cdi.org. 2006-03-31. Archived from the original on 2009-08-06. Retrieved 2010-03-02. Clifford Gaddy: "Mr. Litvinenko -- who was directly involved in the dissertation, allegedly helped [Putin] choose the topic and was more or less the advisor for the dissertation -- is himself a member of the higher accreditation commission, which is the government-appointed body to be the watchdog over standards about degree-granting, dissertations and quality control for higher education in Russia. So it's extra scandalous that he would be involved in this case of, at minimum, shoddiness and plagiarism, possibly something worse, which would be the literal purchase, either by money or political influence, of a dissertation by someone who didn't actually do the work. That second point is not clear. I don't have proof about that. All I have is proof about the plagiarism."
  12. "I Couldn't Achieve Any Justice In Russia". Barchart.com. Ein News. Archived from the original on 2018-02-28. Retrieved November 13, 2017.
  13. Redefyne. "Putin's Russia: One Man's Story Of Corruption & Persecution - EU Today". eutoday.net. Retrieved 2019-11-18.
  14. "Billion-pound dispute over ownership of LSE-listed Russian company launches in UK court, as Judge rules that oligarch was correctly served legal papers, prepared by Fieldfisher LLP, in London street". AFP.com. Retrieved 2019-11-18.
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