Fraport to finally sell stake in Pulkovo Airport in St Petersburg

Fraport AG expects to complete the sale of its stake in Pulkovo Airport (LED) in St Petersburg in the coming days.

The completion of the share transfer only requires the registration of the change in ownership in the Russian register of companies.

The global airport operator suspended its activities at the airport soon after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but has not been able to dispose of the asset for a price it was happy with until now.

With the anticipated completion of this transaction, the company will end its 14-year commitment in Russia and focus on its global growth strategies.

Fraport CEO, Dr Stefan Schulte, noted: “With this transaction, we’re ending our involvement in Russia.

“Our goal has always been to find a solution for the investment that would be in the best interests of our shareholders. We are confident that this will be achieved through the sale of our stake – even if this has taken longer than originally hoped.”

Fraport took over the operation of Pulkovo Airport in April, 2010, with a contractual term of 30 years.

It is selling its entire 25% stake in the VVSS Holding LLC to Orbit Aviation LLC, an investor from the Middle East.

The transaction is expected to have a positive effect in the mid double-digit million euro range on reducing the Group’s net financial debt.

Because of the political situation, Fraport had already written off its Russia business in full in the second quarter of 2022.