30 June 2020
Acron Group Promoting Cooperation with Financial Partners
under the Talitsky Potash Project
Otkritie Bank has acquired a stake in VPC's Talitsky potash project. The acquisition was made via Closed-end Mutual Fund Otrkitie, a member of Otkritie Bank. Having sold 10.1% of VPC shares to the Bank, Acron Group reduced its stake in the project to 50%+1 share.
The other Talitsky stakeholder is Sberbank Investment, which holds two stakes of 20% and 19.9%. Earlier this month, Sberbank Investment decided to extend the term of its 19.9% stake in the Group's potash project.
Acron Board of Directors Chairman Alexander Popov commented on the acquisition:
"We are happy that Otkritie Bank has joined our major potash project. Acron Group has been focused on strengthening long-term cooperation with its financial partners. We would like to thank our partners for their participation in the project, which adds flexibility to the project in the current macroeconomic environment.
We have entered the final stage of building vertical shafts. With the banks' support, in the future, we will be able to proceed to constructing the ground facilities and the underground mine, taking into account market conditions and needs."
Viktor Nikolaev, member of the Management Board, Corporate and Investment Block Executive at Otkritie Bank:
"For us, this acquisition is an attractive investment opportunity, the first step towards implementation by our partner, Acron Group, of a large investment project that will help create an export-oriented production facility with an annual extraction volume of 7.5 million tonnes of ore and production capacity of 2.0 million tonnes of potassium chloride per year."
Mediacontacts:
Sergey Dorofeev
Anastasiya Gromova
Tatiana Smirnova
Public Relations
Phone: +7 (495) 777-08-65 (ext. 5196)
Investor contacts:
Ilya Popov
Investor Relations
Phone: +7 (495) 745-77-45 (ext. 5252)
Background Information
Acron Group is a leading vertically integrated mineral fertiliser producer in Russia and globally, with chemical production facilities in Veliky Novgorod (Acron) and the Smolensk region (Dorogobuzh). The Group owns and operates a phosphate mine in Murmansk region (North-Western Phosphorous Company, NWPC) and is implementing a potash development project in Perm Krai (Verkhnekamsk Potash Company, VPC). It has a wholly owned transportation and logistics infrastructure, including three Baltic seaport terminals and distribution networks in Russia and China. Acron's subsidiary, North Atlantic Potash Inc. (NAP), holds mining leases and an exploration permit for ten parcels of the potassium salt deposit at Prairie Evaporite, Saskatchewan, Canada. Acron also holds a minority stake (19.8%) in Polish Grupa Azoty S.A., one of the largest chemical producers in Europe.
In 2019, the Group sold 7.6 million tonnes of the main products to 78 countries, with Russia, Brazil, Europe and the United States as key markets.
In 2019, the Group posted consolidated IFRS revenue of RUB 114,835 million (USD 1,774 million) and net profit of RUB 24,786 million (USD 383 million). Acron's shares are on the Level 1 quotation list of the Moscow Exchange and its global depositary receipts are traded at the London Stock Exchange (ticker AKRN). Acron employs around 11,000 people.
For more information about Acron Group, please visit www.acron.ru/en.
