Rail Garant: we have not received any offer from Kanajev
25.05.2012, 11:31Representatives of Russian transport company Rail Garant that was awarded the right to develop and operate a new container terminal in Port of Muuga say they have received no offers from Anatoli Kanajev, one of Estonia’s richest businessmen, to sell his logistics business Transiidikeskus that is located next to Rail Garant’s would-be container terminal in Muuga, writes Postimees.
Jelena Davydenko, press spokesperson of Rail Garant Group, said that, contrary to media reports, Kanajev has also not offered to buy Rail Garant’s project that was not on sale anyway.
In March Estonian newspapers wrote that Kanajev’s
Transiidikeskus that operates Muuga CT, a container terminal, had wrote a letter to Sergei Guchev from Rail Garant about an offer to sell Transiidikeskus to the Russian company.
When contacted about the letter, Kanajev who completed with Rail Garant for the contract denied any plans to sell the company and said that it was total nonsense.
“I cannot understand where it is coming from. On the contrary, we are developing the current business and re-organising it for future needs.”
Kanajev added that, because of the container terminal contract, he would never sell anything to Rail Garant.
“I don’t know who are interested in spreading such rumours,” he added.
His representative added that the businessmen was considering filing an application to the police in connection with a possible blackmail or forgery.
Kanajev’s lawyers have sued Port of Tallinn over having selected Rail Garant for the project.
The letter written in English says that after 15 years of operations and constant investments that have made the company a market leader in the region, the owner has decided to sell the company.
The letter also mentions the names of Meelis Lao and Aavo Koppel as the organizers of the sale.
While Lao did not wish to comment, Koppel told Postimees that he was aware of the letter, but added that he had not received a formal mandate for sale.
Koppel did not say why the letter was drawn up.
According to various sources, Kanajev has been offering Transiidikeskus for sale to Rail Garant also before, saying that it would be a good way for Rail Garant to expand to the Estonian market.
“He is retiring and the right competition in the transshipment business is only starting. This is the right time to pull out,” said one source who wished to remain anonymous.
The source added that business logic tells to sell the company before its value starts eroding. It is clear that when the new container terminal is completed and starts operations, the value of Transiidikeskus would not be the same as today.
In March, Kanajev sent a letter to minister of economic affairs Juhan Parts and Raivo Aeg, chief of KAPO, in which he expressed his belief that the management of state-owned Port of Tallinn that is supervised by Parts selected to contract Rail Garant because Port of Tallinn executives themselves have a secret holding in the company.
Executives of Port of Tallinn have denied such claims.