SOK Group

The SOK Group (Russian: Группа «СОК») was a Russian holding company established in 1994 and based in Samara, Russia.[1] Yuri Kachmazov was the group's president.[2]

SOK Group
Closed joint-stock company
IndustryDiversified
Founded1994
Defunct2011
Headquarters
Samara
,
Russia
Websitewww.sok.ru

The name SOK was originally an acronym for 'Samara Window Company'.[3]

History
The RosLada factory in 2005

The SOK Group started in 1994 as an AvtoVAZ dealership, growing to become one of the main automotive companies in Russia.[4] SOK managed to gain control of RosLada, an automotive plant that had been established in 1998 on the grounds of the former Luch Design Bureau in Syzran,[5] and used it to produce old AvtoVAZ models.[6]

In 1999 the ownership of the Izhmash-Avto plant in Izhevsk, which produced old AvtoVAZ models under the Izh brand, was transferred to the group.[7] SOK also included over 40 other factories, mostly in the automotive component business, and employed over 100,000 workers.[6]

Revenues grew from $19 million in 1999 to close to $200 million in 2002.[4] It was the second largest passenger car producer in Russia after AvtoVAZ, with production totaling 121,172 cars in 2002.[6] In August 2003 VAZInterService became part of the group.[8]

By 2004 the group had $2 billion in revenues and supplied 37%-50% of all AvtoVAZ accessories; AvtoVAZ could not withdraw from such cooperation agreements without paying SOK $492 million in penalties.[9] In October 2005 SOK reportedly owned over 60% of AvtoVAZ shares, and ousted Vladimir Kadannikov, the company's chairman.[10][9]

SOK group attempted to gain control of AvtoVAZ, which was instead gained by the state-owned Rostec corporation. The Rostec-appointed AvtoVAZ management began to phase out or rescind supply contracts between SOK and AvtoVAZ.[11]

In 2008, SOK began negotiations to sell the IzhAvto plant to AvtoVAZ.[12] In 2009 the group was forced to sell its automotive components holdings to AvtoVAZ, after SOK had disrupted the schedule of deliveries to the company.[13] The components business ultimately came under control of Rostec as the United Automotive Technologies group.[11] In 2010 the president of the group, wanted over allegations of fraudulent conveyance during the IzhAvto bankruptcy of 2009, escaped to the United Arab Emirates.[12] The group's last assets were sold in January 2013.[14]

Models

Car models produced by the group:[15]

Non-automotive assets
  • Promek Bank, later sold to Societe Generale[16]
  • TV channel Orion
  • Volgomost, a bridge construction company

References
  1. "История развития Группы "СОК"". 13 August 2006. Archived from the original on 13 August 2006. Retrieved 2 June 2017.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
  2. "Media executive severely beaten". Committee to Protect Journalists. Archived from the original on 29 July 2014. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
  3. "DOMINO THEORY: AvtoVAZ following GAZ falling to new owner?". 12 December 2000. Archived from the original on 12 July 2012. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
  4. Inc, IBP (2009). Russia Automobile Industry Directory - Strategic Information and Contacts. p. 141. ISBN 9781438740249.
  5. "Променяли машины на плитку". Vedomosti.ru. 15 March 2007. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
  6. A Review Of The Russian Automotive Component Sector (PDF). International Finance Corporation. 2004. p. 47.
  7. Chivers, C. J. (15 November 2004). "Workers Feel the Growing Pains of Russia's Auto Industry". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
  8. "История и структура". ВАЗинтерСервис. 30 December 2004. Archived from the original on 30 December 2004. Retrieved 2 June 2017.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
  9. "An in-depth look at the Russian press, October 28". Sputniknews.com. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
  10. Емельянова, Екатерина; Трифонов, Владислав (28 October 2005). "Владимир Каданников выработал ресурс". Газета "Коммерсантъ". p. 1. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
  11. "Как группа "СОК" проиграла битву за АвтоВАЗ: расследование". Forbes.ru. Archived from the original on 26 November 2016. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
  12. "Investigators Say IzhAvto Owners Stole Assets". Moscow Times. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
  13. "AvtoVAZ could buy the business of its largest supplier". Autostat.ru. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
  14. "Группа "СОК" продала последний актив в России". РБК. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
  15. "Структура бизнеса Группы "СОК"". 12 August 2006. Archived from the original on 12 August 2006. Retrieved 2 June 2017.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
  16. "Societe Generale to issue 3-year bonds on Russian market". Sputniknews.com. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
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