IDS Borjomi issued a statement stating that the company’s owner is ready to transfer part of the shares to the Georgian government for free. According to the announcement, this step will make it possible to resume the production process, which was suspended for several weeks. IDS BORJOMI halted the production because of sanctioning the company’s shareholder Mikhail Friedman. The accounts of Borjomi were also frozen.
IDS BORJOMI International announced today that after negotiations with the Georgian government, its controlling company has submitted a formal proposal to the Georgian government to transfer part of the shares free of charge. This step will allow the Georgian government to participate in the management of an international company.
Due to the recent adverse developments in the region, IDS BORJOMI International is experiencing business interruptions and difficulties with banking services, which has forced the company to suspend production at bottling plants in the city of Borjomi. As a result, more than a thousand people were at risk of losing their jobs.
“If the Government of Georgia approves the company’s offer, IDS Borjomi Georgia will be able to resume production processes and resume economic activities in the plants,” the company said in a statement.
On April 30, Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili declared that the population would hear “good news” about Borjomi shortly.
The main shareholder of IDS Borjomi International is the Russian “Alfa Group” (Alfa Finance), founded by the sanctioned Russian billionaire Mikhail Friedman. Alfa had owned a controlling stake in Borjomi since 2013 when a Russian holding bought a 60% stake from Badri Patarkatsishvili’s family for $460 million.
Currently, Alpha Group has a 60% stake in IDS Borjomi International. The Patarkatsishvili family owns the remaining 40%. IDS Borjomi International is owned directly by the Cyprus-registered company Rissa Investments Limited (whose shareholders are Alpha Group and the Patarkatsishvili family).
IDS Borjomi International’s assets include companies producing mineral and freshwater in Georgia and other countries. The company owns water bottling plants in the Ukrainian cities of Mirgorod and Morshin, which pour mineral water Morshinsk. The company also owns one of Russia’s leading freshwater brands, Святой источник.
“IDS Borjomi Georgia” publishes information about its income publicly. According to a document submitted to Reportal, the company had revenue of $ 119.7 million in 2020 and a loss of $ 64.3 million. In 2019, the company generated $ 140.17 million, while its net profit was $ 17.3 million. By country, its 2020 revenue is allocated as follows:
- Russian Federation – $ 41.9 million;
- Ukraine – $ 18 million;
- Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania – $ 14.3 million;
- Kazakhstan – $ 13 million;
- Georgia – $ 11 million;
- Belarus – $ 6.4 million;
- Uzbekistan – $ 2.2 million;
- Azerbaijan – $ 1.3 million;
- Other countries – $ 11.2 million.
