MOSCOW, November 3. /TASS/. Businessman Vladislav Filev withdrawing from the deal for the acquisition of Transaero shares is a violation of an agreement with the current shareholders, the wife of Transaero shareholder Alexander Pleshakov Olga Pleshakova said in her Twitter blog on Tuesday.
On November 2 Filev’s representative said that the businessman was withdrawing from the deal due to the fact that the company’s shareholders were not able to collect the required stake with no legal charges. Filev and Pleshakov have signed an agreement for selling shares on October 20.
"The contract signed on October 20 is valid, and Filev’s announcement of "withdrawing from the sale and purchase transaction" 60 days earlier [12 days have passed - TASS] is an obvious violation on his part," Pleshakova said.
It was reported earlier, that S7 Airlines General Director Vladislav Filev was buying "at least 51%" of the Transaero shares from Alexander Pleshakov, the largest shareholder of the airline. Filev said that Transaero shareholders have a plan to normalize relations with airline creditors, but did not disclose further details. He also noted that the new shareholders by all means will try to avoid bankruptcy of the airline. However, a significant part of the shares was pledged to the creditor banks, including VTB.
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"Filev was well informed that the shares were pledged on loans of two banks to Transaero airline and we talked this over," the statement said.
Pleshakov argues that, signing the agreement, he owned 59% of Transaero shares and had the opportunity to purchase additional shares in the open market, if it was required. Up until November 2 the parties implemented a phased transfer of shares.
Pleshakov said that the plan to save the company proposed by Filev, suggested merging S7 and Transaero in 18 months with converting the debt to shares of a new or merger company. He added that he was planning to send funds obtained from Filev to repay Transaero debts.
According to Pleshakov, before announcing his withdrawal from the transaction, Filev met with the Head of Aeroflot Vitaly Saveliev.