Russland verkauft Aeroflot-Anteile – Milliardenverlust für den Staat zeichnet sich ab

Russia plans to sell part of its stake in Aeroflot. According to the state property management agency, 23.76 percent of the company's shares are expected to be placed on the market. The move is based on a government decision issued on April 28. The search for a legal entity to organize the sale is already underway. Applications are being accepted from May 22 through June 8. The decision comes at a time when the numbers differ significantly from the expectations of previous years. According to calculations by economist Sergei Aleksashenko, the Russian state could face losses of roughly 12 billion rubles through this transaction.

The story goes back to 2020. At that time, the Russian Ministry of Finance purchased large portions of Aeroflot shares through the National Welfare Fund in order to stabilize the company during the Covid crisis. The price at the time stood at sixty rubles per share. Today, according to Aleksashenko, the market value is approximately 47 rubles. Since more than 944 million shares are expected to be sold, the difference creates a substantial gap. What was originally intended as a state stabilization effort is now turning into a transaction at a loss.

The last major Aeroflot share placement took place in October 2020. At that time, the company raised a total of 80.04 billion rubles. The Russian state assumed the largest portion of that amount and invested approximately 50 billion rubles. To this day, Russia still retains control over the company. The state's ownership stake currently stands at 73.8 percent. The planned sale would reduce that percentage, although the government would remain the dominant shareholder.

The development also highlights a problem that extends far beyond a single airline. Government intervention can support companies in the short term, but years later the market ultimately determines the real value of an investment. The numbers now on the table look considerably different from the expectations that were tied to billions of rubles back in the fall of 2020.

Independent Journalism · Kaizen Blog

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