Transparent intentions. Pikalevskaya Soda holding company takes on glass containers

Chemical manufacturer Pikalevskaya Soda, controlled by former PhosAgro CEO Maxim Volkov, will manage the operations of glass container manufacturer JSC Glanit. This is already the third glass factory that is coming under the control of the entrepreneur's structures. The glass container market is going through difficult times, but the deal will allow Pikalevskaya Soda to guarantee sales of its products.

The Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) has allowed Pikalevskaya Soda JSC to take control of the operations of glass container manufacturer JSC Glanit. The corresponding petition of Pikalevskaya Soda has been granted, as indicated in the database of decisions of the antimonopoly agency.

"FAS has allowed Pikalevskaya Soda to acquire the right to determine the operating conditions of the company Glanit. The transaction is indicated in the petition, but what exactly is included in it is unclear from the decision," comments Kirill Katkov, a lawyer at Maxima Legal.

The glass factory of JSC Glanit was built according to the design of the Italian company Glass Tech Establishment and was put into operation in 2008

“Based on the law on protection of competition, we can assume that we are talking either about the acquisition by a group of persons of JSC Pikalevskaya Soda of more than 50% of the voting shares of JSC Glanit, or about the conclusion of an agreement according to which one of the persons of the JSC Pikalevskaya Soda group will become the management company of JSC Glanit, that is, will perform the functions of its sole executive body,” the lawyer explains.

According to Kirill Katkov, these are the most common options for such transactions, although there may be others.

A few years ago, the media wrote that Glanit was affiliated with Pikalevskaya Soda, but the essence of this connection was not disclosed.

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JSC Pikalevskaya Soda is located in the Boksitogorsk District of the Leningrad Region and is part of a production complex that also includes Pikalevskiy Cement and the Pikalevskiy Alumina Plant.

Pikalevskaya Soda produces calcined soda, potash, which are used in the glass industry, and cement.

Previously, Pikalevskaya Soda was part of the PhosAgro holding, and in 2013, the plant in Pikalevo was bought out by the former CEO of PhosAgro, Maxim Volkov.

Pikalevskaya Soda's revenue for last year amounted to 7.4 billion rubles, according to the Kontur.Fokus service, net profit was 773 million rubles.

Supplier to itself

In 2021, Tula-based JSC Glanit acquired the glass container plant Aktis in the Rostov region. Last year, it was reported that the company intended to increase production from 725 million pieces of glass products per year to 730 million pieces. According to Kontur.Fokus, the revenue of JSC Glanit last year amounted to 13.9 billion rubles, net profit - 1.6 billion rubles.

Glanit is not the first asset in the glass container production sector that Pikalevskaya Soda and its owners are taking control of. In 2019, it became known that Maxim Volkov acquired the Aleksinsky Glass Plant, and a year earlier, JSC Pikalevskaya Soda bought the Tver Glass Plant.

Analysts believe that Pikalevskaya Soda could have taken control of Glanit not only to ensure stable sales of products. "Pikalevskaya Soda may intend to secure control over Glanit not only to maintain supplies of raw materials there, but also to promote production development," says independent industrial expert Leonid Khazanov. According to him, the prospects for the glass container market are not entirely clear due to high competition with plastic and metal packaging. "But there are opportunities for growth. It is no coincidence that Glanit itself, which bought out the Tver Glass Factory in 2021, intends to establish production of decorated glass and glass jars for baby food there," the expert adds. Accordingly, it cannot be ruled out that there are interesting niches that may be occupied by Glanit in the future with the support of Pikalevskaya Soda, Leonid Khazanov believes.

Fragile glass

The glass industry is going through hard times. As noted by representatives of the Steklosouz, in 2022, the volume of production in the segment fell sharply due to a decrease in export volumes. First of all, the production of sheet glass dropped.

In the glass container segment, the situation is somewhat different - there is still a slight increase. According to Rosstat, 13.57 billion units of products were produced in 2022, and 14.5 billion units in 2023. The main manufacturers in this segment are SibSteklo, TC Steklo, Gusevsky Glass Factory, Kirishi Glass Factory and others. "The growth in glass container production is associated with high demand for products in the food industry," notes BusinesStat.

The growth in demand for glass packaging is confirmed by other analysts. “In the first half of this year, the production of champagne sparkling wines in Russia grew by 29%, still wines by 12.5%, vodka by 6%, and cognac by 12%. Accordingly, the demand for glass containers also increased,” said Maxim Chernigovsky, General Director of the Alcohol Market Professionals Club.

But the growth potential of the glass container market is not very high. According to Natalia Nevskaya, Head of the analytical company StekloDelie, the food glass container market has already passed the saturation stage.

Dmitry Baranov, Leading Expert at Finam Management, is more optimistic. He believes that the demand for glass containers in Russia may increase, in particular due to the desire of consumers and manufacturers to reduce the use of plastic containers. “In addition, the export of glass containers to countries in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East may increase. The development of tourism and the food industry in these countries also contributes to an increase in the consumption of glass containers,” says Dmitry Baranov.

Source: newprospect.ru