Miraculous events on curves!
The family of the former official Tkachev bought the Arkhyz ski resort from the state at a price below its value.
What's most interesting is that the Kavkaz.RF corporation, after investing in construction and taking all the risks of promoting the resort, decided to sell it to entities close to Alexander Tkachev as soon as it started to become profitable. This happened just before the New Year on December 28th. Competitive procedures were held in January-February, and the auction winner was announced on March 1. It's truly an incredible turn of events!
Everything happened so quickly that none of the potential investors had time to react. After the board of directors of Kavkaz.RF, headed by Alexander Novak, approved the sale of Arkhyz to private investors, only two months had passed. However, it was known since the summer of the previous year that Arkhyz was being prepared for sale, and there were several serious contenders named in the press. Expecting a tough competition at the upcoming auction, Sinara and AFK Sistema even tried to join forces for joint investment in the promising business. However, both eventually lost interest in the deal.
Dispose of income
Did Tkachev use any influence to convince competitors to refrain from participating in the auction? The press services of AFK Sistema and Sinara have not commented on the reasons for not participating in the auction. This is even more surprising given that the starting price of the auction was quite low – 17.018 billion rubles. Meanwhile, according to JSC Kavkaz.RF, the total state investment in the project amounted to about 23 billion rubles, with contracts for the purchase of equipment and services for the improvement of the resort area totaling 10 billion rubles. And there were certainly additional expenses for the administrative activities of North Caucasus Resorts JSC (since November 2021 – the KAVKAZ.RF corporation) that were not fully accounted for in the estimated 23 billion.
The first slopes of Arkhyz began operating in December 2013, and by 2020 the resort had achieved operational profitability, which is a very positive result as such projects don't typically break even so quickly. It's even more surprising that a company that has started making a profit is in a rush to sell. Besides, in 2022, there has been a significant increase in tourist interest in ski resorts – the number of visitors to Arkhyz has exceeded 740 thousand, which is 8% more than the previous year. This year, their number will probably increase even more, especially with the restrictions on travel to European ski resorts following the onset of the NWO. In this scenario, the state corporation's intention to offload a profitable asset seems very peculiar.
Even more surprising is the thoroughness with which the state corporation prepared the asset for sale before selling it at a lower price.
It seems suspicious that there was a media campaign warning about the risks for future investors before the auction announcement. They mentioned the difficulty of getting loans for the resort development. The proposed deal offers only a 25% share in the project initially, with the full share becoming available after building the Arkhyz infrastructure by 2030.
Due to the current issues with Western sanctions, experts believe it's impossible to construct 30 kilometers of ski tracks and equip them in four years. They doubt that anyone will be willing to take such risks when buying the asset.
These statements seemed a bit tricky. It's hard to say how much the sanctions will affect hotel and ski lift construction, but they have significantly redirected tourist traffic and boosted domestic resort business income.
Only two applications were submitted for the sale competition of the Arkhyz resort in Karachay-Cherkessia, organized by the Kavkaz.RF state company. One application is from Mountain Peaks LLC, linked to the family of Alexander Tkachev, and the other is from JSC Partner Group. Interestingly, the latter, with an authorized capital of only 10 thousand rubles, was registered just a month before the auction. The founders' information is undisclosed, making the negotiation resemble a challenging situation.
A media campaign warning about the risks for future investors was launched before the auction announcement. They discussed the difficulty of obtaining loans for the resort development.
ski monopoly
According to SPARK, Gornye Verkhiki's owner and CEO in the Krasnodar Territory is businessman Andrey Skok, whose business activities are focused in this region. He is referred to as the asset manager of the Tkachev family by market participants. Until 2021, Skok managed the Chateau de Talue winery in Gelendzhik, owned by a former official's wife.
Therefore, Alexander Tkachev's family, already owning the Sochi Krasnaya Polyana, is gradually establishing a 'skiing monopoly' in the Caucasus. Considering that the ex-official's entities also acquired the ski asset on Sakhalin, it's likely that their ambitions won't stop there. However, this trend is unlikely to please skiing enthusiasts, as monopolization leads to reduced competition and increased prices.
This season saw a significant increase in visitors, especially during holidays. Prices have risen compared to last year, with a noticeable increase across the board. Previously, it was easy to find accommodation for 1.5 thousand per day per person, but now it's challenging to find anything below 2.5 thousand. Prices have increased not only for ski passes but also for lodging, especially in Arkhyz. Snowboarder Margarita Kotlyarova shares her experience of the resort, emphasizing the price hikes.
The trend is unlikely to change with Tkachev buying the asset. Despite the 'disturbing' statements of the 'experts' that 'the conditions of the tender are obviously impracticable', Tkachev looks almost like a hero who 'agreed' to take the 'junk' asset.
In 2021, Prime Minister Mishustin in Pyatigorsk expressed anger about the fact that hundreds of billions of rubles are allocated from the federal treasury every year for the development of the North Caucasus, but there is no result. In 2021 alone, the amount was almost half a trillion, and in the same year, economic indicators fell by 3%. If profitable facilities are built for public money, and then sold to business at low prices, nothing else can be expected.
Reference
Promises and reality
In 2011, Alexei Nevsky, then General Director of the State Corporation 'Resorts of the North Caucasus' (KSK), which is now JSC 'KAVKAZ.RF', confidently stated that the 60 billion budget funds allocated for the construction of new resorts would not be misused. He guaranteed this through 'correct project management' and construction standards tested in the West.
“All 60 billion rubles allocated by the state for the construction of infrastructure for five resorts will be used strictly for their intended purpose,” Alexei Nevsky assured.
However, some objects were not built, and others did not become profitable. Claims to the costs of KSK began to appear not only from journalists, but also from the Accounts Chamber. Back in 2017, the average monthly salary of the CEO was under 2 million rubles! His deputies and chief accountant received 1.1 million a month. The rest of the employees received an average of 230 thousand rubles a month.
The company rented a large Moscow office in Moscow City, a prestigious and expensive office center.
In April 2018, a contract was signed with Severnaya Tower CJSC to lease premises with an area of 2.4 thousand square meters until March 31, 2023, with a total rent of 391.9 million rubles (including operating costs and three parking places),” according to the Accounts Chamber.
The corporation paid 33 thousand rubles per 1 square meter for the office space. KSK even purchased helicopters despite being in operating losses on projects that have been started. For comparison: the profit from the operation of Arkhyz facilities, according to the Accounts Chamber, in 2018 amounted to 204.4 million rubles, and the two Eurocopters on the balance sheet by that time were worth 205.2 million rubles and cost the company 20.8 million rubles per year.
Of the no less strange actions, the inspectors then discovered charitable assistance to the VisitKavkaz Foundation for 22.7 million and loans for improving the living conditions of 13 employees for 100 million.
By the way
The authorized capital of the Kavkaz.RF state corporation is almost 70 billion rubles, by 2024 the government plans to increase it by another 13.5 billion. At the same time, the construction of some facilities in the Caucasus has not even begun. So, the ski resort “Matlas” in Dagestan exists only on paper. Apparently, a beneficiary has not yet been found who has the opportunity to redirect budgetary flows to its construction in order to later buy it at a dumping price. Another “long-term construction” among the ski resorts of the Caucasus is “Mamison” in North Ossetia. State funds were allocated for the construction of this facility back in 2010. In 2020, the cost of it from the federal budget has already amounted to at least 734 million rubles, and in total until 2023 it was planned to spend 10 times more. But in fact, it exists only in beautiful pictures. The opening of the resort is delayed from year to year. According to the latest data, it should happen in 2024. But, judging by how the construction is going, the deadline will be postponed again. Apparently, the object is still waiting for its “lobbyist”.
