Fosagro loses control over disputed Apatit shares
An appeal court in Moscow yesterday rejected an appeal from Fosagro against the return of 20 percent stake in the Russian fertilizer giant Apatit to the Russian state.
The conflict dates back to 1994 when Yukos founder Mikhail Khodorkovskii acquired the shares from the Russian state for an allegedly too low price. The acquisition later became one of several points in the charges against the powerful businessman.
In 2006 The Russian federal Property Authority (Rosimushchestvo) took the case to court and claimed that the stakes should be returned to the state. The case was rejected and the Property Authority reformulated the lawsuit. In September this year the court decided in favour of the authorities.
Fosagro has direct control over 61 percent of the stakes in Apatit, but analytics claims that the company in reality controls 80 percent and is not going to lose control over Apatit.
