DThe Russian TUI major shareholder Alexey Mordashov reorganized his shares in the travel group shortly before the EU sanctions were imposed. From his previous 34 percent stake, which he held through Unifirm in the European Union country of Cyprus, he transferred a 4.1 percent stake to his Russian holding company SeverGroup, as TUI announced late Friday in Hannover. He sold his shares in Unifirm, which he sold through two subsidiaries to a company called Ondro Limited in the British Virgin Islands. Accordingly, both happened on 28 February.
According to the information, Ondro Limited now holds a 29.9 percent stake in TUI through Unifirm, making it the largest shareholder in the world’s largest travel conglomerate. “We do not know who the shareholders of Ondero are,” a TUI spokesperson said on Saturday. This leaves open the question of whether Mordashov is one of them. The Virgin Islands are considered a tax haven where many shell companies are based.
By transferring less than 30 percent of TUI’s shares, Mordashov saved Ondro from submitting a takeover bid for the German travel group. The European Union On the evening of February 28, sanctions were imposed on several Russian oligarchs, including Mordashov. Since then, his wealth in the EU has been frozen and his freedom to travel is restricted. The Russian apparently dealt with the restructuring of its TUI shares at the last minute.
Mordashov is the main owner of the Russian steel conglomerate Severstal and was also TUI’s largest shareholder until at least the end of February. After EU sanctions were imposed, he resigned from the travel group’s supervisory board on Wednesday. “The purpose of the EU sanctions is that Mr Mordashov can no longer dispose of his shares in TUI AG,” the group said. This is to prevent Mordashov from being able to generate revenue or profit from his stake in TUI.
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