Mikhail Fridman biography. Fridman Mikhail Maratovich. Public and political activities

Mikhail Maratovich Fridman

In 2007, the state was estimated at $ 13.5 billion (sixth place in terms of wealth among Russian entrepreneurs at the beginning of 2007 according to Forbes).

According to Forbes magazine in 2010, he takes 42nd place in the list of world billionaires published in March 2010, having a fortune of $ 12.7 billion.

Mikhail Maratovich Fridmanborn April 21, 1964 in Lvov, Jewish by nationality. He lived with his mother, father and grandmother, his mother had a decisive influence on his upbringing. He studied excellently at school, attended a piano class at a music school, and was the organizer of a youth vocal and instrumental ensemble.

At the end high school entered the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT), but did not pass the competition. In 1982 he entered the faculty of non-ferrous and rare earth metals of the Moscow Institute of Steel and Alloys (MISIS), graduating in 1987. Mikhail Grushevsky (now an actor-parodist), Alexander Nikonov (writer and journalist), Alexander Kasyanenko (businessman) studied with him on the same course. Before M. Fridman, his cousin Dmitry Lvovich Fridman entered MISIS.

While studying at MISIS, he was a member of the Moscow student so-called. the "theater system" (or "theater mafia"), which was engaged in buying and reselling theater tickets. He was allegedly engaged in small fartsovka ("Profile", 05/22/2000).

On the way to the top

In the 3rd year of the institute under the auspices of the Komsomol organized a night youth club " strawberry meadow" , which functioned in the hall of the MISIS hostel in Belyaevo. In his student years, he met Peter Aven, who headed the Music Club of Moscow State University.

After school, he worked for one year at the Lvov Institute of Physics and Mechanics as a laboratory assistant. After graduating from MISIS, he worked in 1986-88. design engineer at the Elektrostal plant in Elektrostal, Moscow Region.

In parallel with the work at the factory founded and headed the cooperative "Courier" specialized in window cleaning. Together with Dmitry Fridman, he created the Helios and Orsk cooperatives that traded computers.

Since 1988 - private entrepreneur (firms "Alfa-foto", "Alfa-Eco", "Alfa-Capital"). In "Alfa-photo" and "Alfa-Eco" he worked together with Oleg Kiselev.

In 1991, he created Alfa-Bank, since its foundation he has been the chairman of the board of directors of the bank.

In 1992, he attracted cosmonaut Alexei Leonov to the leadership of Alfa Group, who took over as vice president of Alfa Bank.

From 1995 to 1998 - Member of the Board of Directors of ZAO Public Russian Television (ORT).

Fridman vs. Khodorkovsky (Banking sector)

November 26, 1995 chairman of the board " Alfa Bank"M. Fridman, President of Inkombank Vladimir Vinogradov and President of Rossiyskiy Kredit Bank Anatoly Malkin issued a statement "On the financial problems of privatization, the relationship between the bank" MENATEP "and some government structures." The statement was caused by suspicions that the outcome of the investment competition and loans-for-share auction for state-owned shares in the oil company Yukos is a foregone conclusion in favor of Mikhail Khodorkovsky's MENATEP bank Inkombank, Rossiyskiy Kredit and Alfa-Bank said they were ready to unite in a consortium and compete with Menatep.

On December 5, 1995, Menatep Bank, as an authorized bank of the State Property Committee of the Russian Federation for holding an investment competition, refused to accept the application of a consortium consisting of Inkombank, Russian Credit and Alfa-Bank. According to a representative of the Menatep bank, instead of the $350 million required to participate in the investment competition, the consortium deposited $82 million and "provided a certificate showing their own and client's GKOs." Then the consortium submitted an application for the loans-for-shares auction, which was also not registered, since only participants in the investment competition are allowed to participate in the loans-for-shares auction.

On December 8, 1995, two companies became participants in the auction - Laguna CJSC and Reagent CJSC. The third application was received from JSC "Babaevskoe", which represented the interests of "Inkombank", "Alfa-Bank" and "Rossiyskiy Kredit". Commission for the investment competition, chaired by Deputy. Valery Fatikov, Chairman of the Russian Federal Property Fund (RFFI), rejected the application of JSC "Babaevskoye" because the company did not deposit funds equivalent to 350 million dollars on the blocked account of the Ministry of Finance with the Central Bank of the Russian Federation. Considering the obligatory condition for participation in the investment tender, before the start of the tender, Babaevskoye OJSC sent an official letter to the Commission with a request to withdraw their application.

The winner was the firm "Laguna", behind which stood "Menatep". The same company won the shares-for-shares auction by offering a $159 million loan.

On January 26, 1996, the Moscow Arbitration Court satisfied the claim of Menatep Bank against Alfa-Bank, Russian Credit and Inkombank for the protection business reputation. The court ordered the defendants to give a refutation of the information contained in their statement on the loans-for-shares auction of NK Yukos.

In June 1996, the appellate instance of the Moscow Arbitration Court rejected the complaint of AO Babaevskoye to invalidate the results of an investment tender and a shares auction for a block of shares in Yukos Oil Company and to cancel the decisions of the court of first instance. In April 1996, the Moscow Arbitration Court considered the claim of JSC "Babaevskoye" and recognized the results of the auction as legitimate.

Fridman and TNK (Oil sector)

In 1996, M. Friedman decided to go into the oil business and for this purpose buy the state-owned Tyumen Oil Company ( TNK), the summary plan for the privatization of which the State Property Committee approved on October 2, 1995. The intention of M. Fridman ran into resistance from the "red" management of TNK, headed by the chairman of the board of directors of TNK, the general director of Nizhnevatovskneftegaz, Viktor Paly, and the company's president, Yuri Vershinin, who planned the privatization of TNK in the interests of management and in alliance with other Moscow commercial structures (Rosinvestneft JSC, Diamant Bank, Stolichny Savings Bank).

In July 1996 Viktor Paly resigned as Chairman of the Board of Directors of TNK. The new chairman of the Council is former minister fuel and energy of the Russian Federation Yuri Shafranik, who supported the plans of the Alfa group.

In December 1996, the top officials of TNK (including Yu. Vershinin and V. Paliy) and its subsidiaries Nizhnevartovskneftegaz, the Ryazan Oil Refinery, as well as the heads of JSC Rosinvestneft and the Capital Savings Bank sent a letter to Prime Minister V. Chernomyrdin with a request to extend for another three years the consolidation of a state-owned block of shares in the amount of 91% of the shares in federal ownership and to transfer it to the trust management of OJSC Rosinvestneft (Vitaly Mashitsky) for the same period with the right to subsequent redemption.

On July 1, 1997, V. Paliy, speaking to reporters, stated that the situation with the privatization of TNK "cannot be called otherwise than state robbery in relation to a state company with the tacit consent of the state leaders" and said that "the organizers of this dirty business" are Yuri Shafranik , Petr Mostovoy and ("to our great regret") Alfred Koch.

On July 18, 1997, at an investment competition, a 40 percent state-owned stake in TNK was bought by the New Holding company, created by Alfa (M. Fridman) and the Acces / Renova group (Leonard Blavatnik and Viktor Vekselberg). The company "New Holding" undertook in 1997-98. to invest in TNCs 810 million dollars, of which 755 million dollars. during August 1997 (according to the terms of the competition, the minimum investment amount was 160 million dollars). According to Sergey Kiriyenko, Deputy Minister of Fuel and Energy of the Russian Federation, the funds received are supposed to be used first of all to pay off the budget debts of TNK enterprises. On August 2, 1997, at an extraordinary meeting of shareholders of TNK, it was decided to liquidate the Board of Directors of the company and transfer its powers to the general meeting of shareholders.

After the investment competition, the New Holding company owned a 40% stake in TNK, the State Property Committee - 50.98%, other legal entities and individuals - 9.02%.

Having won the competition, Alfa Group actively began to reorganize the company. The composition of the management of the TNC was almost completely changed, all commodity and cash flows of the enterprises that were part of the TNC were transferred under the control of the parent company. The solution of the issue of control over the economic activities of the company's largest mining enterprise, Nizhnevartovskneftegaz JSC, was dragged out, the general director of which V. Paliy stubbornly did not want to cooperate with the new owners. September 14, 1997 in Moscow and Nizhnevartovsk held alternative meetings of shareholders of JSC "Nizhnevartovskneftegaz" (NNG). A meeting of shareholders supporting TNK and Alfabank and JV Renova was held in Moscow. Supporters took part in the meeting of shareholders in Nizhnevartovsk CEO NIS V. Palia (behind whom stood such commercial structures as the Moscow bank Diamant and Credit Investment Bank). The meeting of shareholders in Moscow decided to transfer powers executive body managing organization - Tyumen Oil Company. A new NNG Board of Directors was elected. On December 11, 1997, the Arbitration Court of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug decided to introduce external management for a period of one year at JSC Nizhnevartovskneftegaz (NNG). Fyodor Marichev, Vice President of TNK, has been appointed external manager.

In 1998, New Holding bought the remaining 50.98% of TNK shares from the State Property Committee. M. Friedman, L. Blavatnik and V. Vekselberg entered the new composition board of directors of TNK. Semyon Kukes became the new president and chairman of the board of TNK, and German Khan became his deputy and executive director.

On June 5, 1998, together with a number of leading Russian entrepreneurs, M. Fridman signed the "Appeal of representatives Russian business about the economic situation in Russia.

In July 1998, after the merger of Alfa-Bank and Alfa-Capital, M. Fridman became Chairman of the Board of Directors of OAO IKB Alfa-Bank.

Friedman against Sberbank

In October 2003, he spoke out against Sbebank, accusing Sberbank in many violations of fair competition. In late May - early June 2004, after the license was revoked from Sodbiznesbank and payments were stopped by Credittrast Bank, a crisis erupted on the Russian interbank lending market. Due to liquidity problems that arose in connection with this, a number of banks stopped payments in June. Alfa-Bank was the leader among Russian banks in reducing balances on individual accounts from June 1 to July 1, 2004, which announced the introduction of a 10% commission for early withdrawal of deposits for its depositors. On October 6, 2004, Alfa-Bank and Fridman won a lawsuit against the Moskovskaya Pravda newspaper in the Moscow Arbitration Court. The reason for the lawsuit was Konstantin Laskin's article "A Bullet and a Pen", published in the newspaper on July 21, 2004. It discussed the versions of the murder of Paul Khlebnikov, the editor-in-chief of the Russian edition of Forbes magazine, including the version that Alfa- Group" and Fridman. The newspaper filed an appeal court, but it upheld the decision of the arbitration court. On October 20, 2004, the Moscow Arbitration Court satisfied Alfa-Bank's claim against the Kommersant publishing house and decided to recover 310.5 million rubles in compensation in favor of the bank. The reason for the bank's appeal to the court was an article in the newspaper "Kommersant" dated July 7, 2004 "The banking crisis has come out into the street", which, according to the bank, caused him financial problems. Alfa-Bank believed that the Kommersant article violated Article 51 of the Russian law "On Mass Media", which forbade "the falsification of socially significant information, the spread of rumors under the guise of reliable reports." (Interfax, October 20, 2004).

Friedman vs. Berezovsky

On March 31, 2005, Boris Berezovsky filed a lawsuit in a London court for the protection of honor and dignity against Fridman in connection with his speech in the NTV television program "To the Barrier", during which Fridman accused Berezovsky of threatening him.

On April 21, 2005, the Boris Berezovsky-funded Foundation for Civil Liberties sent out to the editorial offices of several media in in electronic format a file called "Reference on the materials in relation to Fridman M.M., Kuzmichev A.V., Khan G.B., Blavatnik L., Vekselberg V.F.". It stated that in 1989, Friedman, Kuzmichev, Khan, Blavatnik and Vekselberg "conspired to create an organized group to ... commit fraud on a large scale." Friedman and Co. were charged with "taking possession by deception of the shares of Russian enterprises...", for example, the Tyumen Oil Company, "fraudulently establishing control" over Nizhnevartovskneftegaz, "violating foreign exchange, customs and tax legislation"etc. A press release from Alfa Bank stated that the information contained in the "certificate" is not true, and the authors of the document are trying to put pressure on the courts in the proceedings between Alfa Bank and Kommersant and Berezovsky and Fridman. (Vedomosti, April 22, 2005)

On May 26, 2006, the High Court of England completed consideration of Boris Berezovsky's claim against Fridman for the protection of honor and dignity. In the recording of the TV show "To the Barrier", Fridman, who had a polemic with the former chief editor of the Kommersant publishing house Andrei Vasiliev, said that Berezovsky, allegedly dissatisfied at the time with the competition in buying the publishing house, threatened him in a telephone conversation, uttering the phrase "We will kill you !". 10 out of 12 jurors confirmed the fact that Fridman caused damage to Berezovsky's reputation and considered that he should be compensated financially. Within three weeks, the defendant was obliged to transfer to the plaintiff £50,000. (Kommersant, May 27, 2006)

Own

He controls the Gibraltar company AB holdindgs limited, which owns the Luxembourg firm Alfa finance holdins SA (authorized capital of $40,000), which was founded in May 1999 and owns Alfa Bank. Along with the Gibraltar company of M. Friedman, the co-founder of the Luxembourg Alpha is the Shapburg limited company of a certain Olivier Peters (British Virgin Islands), which owns one of the 20,000 two-dollar shares of Alfa finance holdins SA; Directorial functions in the Luxembourg Alpha are assigned to one individual - manager Paul Joseph Williams, a British citizen, and two legal entities - Virginia firms Shapburg limited and Quenon investments limited.

He is a co-owner of offshore companies TNK Industrial Holdings Ltd, TNK International Ltd (Virgin Islands), Sborsare (Cyprus) and, through them, SIDANCO and TNK companies.

In 2001, he bought a mansion in Neuilly, a bohemian suburb of Paris, which previously belonged to actress Mireille Darc — ex-wife Alain Delon. Neighbors - Mireille Mathieu, Belmondo, Sophie Marceau. (Profile, November 5, 2001).

In June 2001, Forbes Magazine listed Friedman as one of the richest Russians in the list of billionaires living on the planet. His fortune was estimated at 1.3 billion dollars.

In February 2002, Forbes Magazine ranked Fridman third (after Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Roman Abramovich) in Russia in the annual ranking of the richest people in the world, and 191st in the world according to 2001 data. The magazine estimated his fortune at $2.2 billion. ("Kommersant", March 2, 2002).

According to the results of 2002, Forbes Magazine gave M. Fridman in February 2003 the same 3rd place in Russia and 68th in the world, estimating his fortune at $4.3 billion.

Since April 2003 - co-owner (through TNK - that is, together with Vekselberg and Blavatnik) "Orenburgnefi".

In November 2005, European Business Magazine estimated Friedman's fortune at 8.3 billion euros.

In February 2006, the magazine "Finance" estimated Friedman's fortune in $11.4 billion(third place in Russia after Abramovich and Deripaska).

In March 2006, another Forbes Magazine rating appeared, in which Friedman is in 50th place in the world (state - 9.7 billion).

In October 2005, in an interview with The Wall Street Journal, he said that his stake in the Alpha group exceeded 40%. And all the assets of Alfa were estimated at $ 20 billion.

On November 23, 2005, as part of the road-show of its Eurobonds, Alfa-Bank distributed a memorandum stating that over 75% of its capital was controlled by members of the board of directors Mikhail Fridman, German Khan and Alexei Kuzmichev. The exact shares of the owners in the document were not called. At the same time, it was noted that none of them owned more than 50% of the bank. (Kommersant, November 24, 2005)

In May 2006, the Pyaterochka trade house named the shares of new beneficiaries that it should have had after the merger with the Perekrestok trading house. The head of Alfa Group, Mikhail Fridman, was to receive 21.9% of the shares of the combined company (in total, the co-owners of the group were to receive 47,8% ), managers of Perekrestok Alexander Kosyanenko and Lev Khasis - 3.4% and 1.8%, respectively. Alexei Reznikovich was to become the owner of about 1%. (Vedomosti 04.05.2006)

CTF Holdings is "a company that Alfa Group calls its corporate center" (Vedomosti, August 25, 2004).

The oligarch, who went down in the history of the domestic elite as an honest and respected businessman, was repeatedly called in the media a prudent and authoritative intellectual with aggressive form conduct business while ignoring the interests and opinions of other parties, and was also declared the European business leader, the most influential and outstanding entrepreneur of the year.

His fortune in 2015 was estimated by Forbes magazine at $14.6 billion. Thus, he ranked 68th in the world ranking of the richest people and second among Russian businessmen after Roman Abramovich.

Childhood and family of Mikhail Fridman

Since childhood, Misha has been surrounded by love and care from his mother, grandmother and other relatives. He did not attend kindergarten, he was an excellent student at school. The boy studied music in the piano class and then organized a school vocal and instrumental ensemble, a type of musical creativity that was popular in those years.

Upon graduation in 1981, the young man entered the country's leading university - the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, but he was not accepted. According to one version - he did not pass the competition, according to another - the fateful “fifth column”, that is, nationality, became the reason for the failure. Allegedly because of her, he, being an excellent student, also did not receive gold medal at school and subsequently failed in graduate school.

Mikhail's second attempt to become a student was crowned with success - he entered the Moscow Institute of Steel and Alloys. Choice educational institution determined, as it were, its location in the very center of Moscow, as well as the presence of a good House of Culture in it, where pop stars such as Yuri Vizbor and Vladimir Vysotsky performed with concerts.

3 Qualities of Billionaire Mikhail Fridman

Mikhail's student life was eventful. In addition to studying professional subjects, he was engaged in the resale of theater tickets, carpets, imported goods, and also created a youth nightclub operating in the institute hostel under the auspices of Komsomol organization, organized discos, performances of artists. During that period, he met Pyotr Aven, who moved in the same circles, being the head of the Moscow State University music club.

The beginning of the career of Mikhail Fridman

At the same time, he organized a cooperative for washing windows, then - for the delivery of products, created, together with his cousin Dmitry, who graduated from the same institute a year earlier, firms that traded in computer equipment.

In 1988, together with German Khan and Alexei Kuzmichev and with the assistance of Academician Alfimov, whose name allegedly served as the basis for the formation of the name of the current financial and investment empire, Friedman set about creating it.

The Alfa-Photo cooperative for the sale of copiers and the Soviet-Swiss joint venture Alfa-Eco for the export of petroleum products and metallurgy products were the very first at the birth of Alfa Group.

Among the consortium's many areas of activity - gas and oil processing, art and food trade, insurance, telecommunications services, advanced technologies, investments - Alfa-Bank is considered the cornerstone, the first in the country among private banks, which the businessman has headed since his inception. institutions in December 1990. Subsequently, he owned a 37% stake in a financial and credit institution (Khan owned 23%, Kuzmichev - 18%, bank president Petr Aven - 14%).

Mikhail Fridman's advice: How to get a job at Alfa-Bank

In 1995, the oligarch was a member of the ORT collective leadership body, in 2002 he headed the Conference of the Leaders of Jewish Organizations of the Russian Federation, he always supported Jewish initiatives in the country and abroad in every possible way.

In 2005, Alfa Group bought X5 Corporation for a billion dollars. It includes the Perekrestok and Karusel supermarket chains and Pyaterochka discount stores.

In 2008, the tycoon gave his senior position in the bank to his deputy, a ratings manager from Prague, Petr Schmide. In 2009, Mikhail Maratovich headed the oil company TNK-BP.

Personal life of Mikhail Fridman

Married to her, they had two daughters, Larisa and Ekaterina. They were born and live with their mother in Paris, and in the summer they usually go on vacation to St. Tropez.

Girls attend a school where teaching is English language. They communicate with friends and acquaintances, of course, in French, and with their parents in Russian. That is, the daughters of an oligarch develop mental flexibility from childhood.

Many people talk about Friedman as a hardworking and talented entrepreneur, inclined towards charity, who achieved everything on his own, with his own work, thanks to his mind, and not to theft. He finances the foundation for helping children "Line of Life"

One of the most famous businessmen in the Russian Federation remains a non-public person, lives in isolation. Today he is an Israeli citizen, lives in London, loves fast driving, movies, music, chess, collects samurai swords. His parents at the beginning of the new century moved from Lviv to Cologne.

In 2001, Mikhail bought a house in the elite suburb of the French capital of Neuilly, previously owned by the ex-wife of Alain Delon, model and artist Mireille Dark. Next to the oligarch's estate are the mansions of the legendary actors Jean-Paul Belmondo and Sophie Marceau.

In order to realize himself as part of the Jewish people, in 2012 Friedman, as part of a group of 12 Russian businessmen, made a three-day pilgrimage through the Israeli Arava desert to the holy city of Jerusalem. They spent the night in tents and covered almost 20 kilometers every day.

Mikhail Fridman today

As of the end of 2015, Alfa-Bank served 14 million individuals and 194 thousand legal entities. Number of branches and branches financial institution, opened in Russia and abroad, including subsidiaries in the USA, the Netherlands, England, Cyprus, reached 775.

Mikhail Fridman (born April 21, 1964) is a major of Jewish origin. He is Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Alfa Group, one of the largest private equity firms in Russia. In 2014, Forbes magazine estimated his fortune at $ 15.6 billion, which makes him the second among How did Mikhail Fridman reach this position? Biography, the family in which he was born and raised - that's what will help the reader understand the origins of his current success.

Childhood and youth

The biography of Mikhail Fridman began, like millions of other Soviet boys. He was born and raised in Lvov, Ukraine. His parents, no longer young, were engineers, and his father was awarded the USSR State Prize for the development of navigation devices for military aircraft. They were very happy when the youngest son was born in the family. Mikhail Fridman from childhood was distinguished by a zeal for science. During his studies, he repeatedly won school olympiads in physics and mathematics.

Waugh graduated from high school in 1980. And then - to Moscow ... He enters the Moscow Institute of Steel and Alloys. Many successful people married while still students. Mikhail Fridman did not escape this fate either. His wife, Olga from Irkutsk, was Mikhail's classmate.

In his student years, for the first time, an entrepreneurial vein appears in him. He becomes the organizer of youth discos, invites musicians and bards to them with the payment of fees to them.

The beginning of a business career

After graduating from MISiS in 1986, Mikhail Fridman began working at the Elektrostal plant in the town of the same name near Moscow. But his time was already approaching, and when it came, Friedman did not miss the favorable moment.

In 1988, he started his entrepreneurial career by creating a window cleaning cooperative with a group of friends from the institute, where he used students from different universities, providing them with the opportunity to earn additional income.

How did Alfa Group start?

Along with Alexei Kuzmichev and Pyotr Aven, Mikhail Fridman founded the Alfa-Photo trading company in 1989, which was engaged in the sale of photographic materials, computers, and photocopiers that had just appeared on the Soviet market.

Soon, having accumulated initial capital in the trade in office equipment, Fridman switches to the basic commodity for all Russian oligarchs - petroleum products. The tool for their transshipment abroad for our hero is the Soviet-Swiss company Alfa-Eco - the prototype of the future Alfa Group.

The development of the company follows the classic scheme for Russian capital: metal products are added to the commodity flows sent abroad, the volume of operations reaches such a level that Fridman’s business structure in 1991 has its own Alfa-Bank, the board of directors of which he and leads.

Privatization of TNK - the peak of the business career of Fridman and Co.

In fact, this story deserves a separate study. But briefly it looks like this. In the mid-90s, the then Russian government "teared" to shreds the state enterprise Rosneft, the successor to the USSR Minneftegazprom. The most tidbits associated with oil production (Nizhnevartovsk and Tyumen oil fields) and oil refining (Ryazan refinery) are distinguished from Rosneft. They are combined into a newly created enterprise, which becomes the Tyumen Oil Company (TNK), then still a state-owned enterprise. A privatization competition is immediately announced with three firms - contenders for TNK, which are headed by outstanding "Russian" businessmen of that time: Mikhail Fridman (Alfa Group), V. Vekselberg (Renova) and L. Blavatnik (Access Industries). To make it easier to interact with each other in the process of privatization, they are united in the Alfa Access Renova (AAR) consortium, which in 1997 becomes the owner of the TNK for the next sixteen years.

Tyumen Oil Company: running in a circle 16 years long

During this time, the owners have made many "fateful" decisions. First, in 2003, they merged with the British Petroleum Corporation into the joint structure of TNK-BP, then in 2008 they quarreled to death with British partners, so that the High Court of London even “resolved” this quarrel.

Finally, it became clear to the Russian leadership that during the global economic crisis there would be no sense from the owners of TNK-BP, and in 2013 the same state-owned company Rosneft bought out their shares in the long-suffering enterprise from British and Russian owners. Nobody will say Russian citizens how much was paid to the Russian state in 1997 for the privatization of TNK Fridman - Vekselberg - Blavatnik. But how much Rosneft laid out for its purchase in 2012-13 is well known: the British spent $16.65 billion, and the AAR consortium - as much as $27.73 billion, despite the fact that the partners owned approximately 50% of the shares of the combined company.

No one knows how Friedman-Vekselberg-Blavatnik distributed this money among themselves. But judging by the fact that the first of them founded a new business in Europe with the proceeds from the sale - the L1 Group investment group, he did not remain in the loser.

What is Friedman's business empire today?

Firstly, it is an investment group, which is now managed by Alfa-Bank (the largest Russian private bank), including such business structures as Alfa Capital Management, Rosvodokanal, AlfaStrakhovanie and A1 Group. The group owns mobile operators MegaFon and VimpelCom, retail chains Pyaterochka and Perekrestok.

In addition, Mikhail Fridman is the Chairman of the L1 Group, headquartered in Luxembourg. The business of this international investment group is focused on telecommunications assets and the energy sector of the economy. It includes two main divisions: "L1 Energy" and "L1 Technologies". Friedman is also a member of the Supervisory Board of Deutsche DEA AG Erdoel, Hamburg, bought by L1 Energetika in 2015.

By the way, the board of directors of L1 Group includes old friends - Fridman's companions, with whom he started back in the late 80s: Kuzmichev, Khan, and also P. Aven - a former minister of the Gaidar government of Russia.

Purchase of assets in the North Sea

In March 2015, the L1 Group acquired the German oil company RWE Dea for over £5 billion. It owns 12 active oil and gas fields in the North Sea and oil fields elsewhere. The deal has been objected to by the British government, which believes it runs counter to sanctions restrictions on Russian firms in connection with events in Ukraine. L1 Group intends to create new company to launch production in new oil fields, led by former head Lord Brown.

On March 4, 2015, British Minister for Energy and Climate Change Ed Davey gave Friedman one week to convince the UK government not to force him to sell his acquired North Sea oil and gas assets. How this story ended is still unknown, but given the experience and resourcefulness of Mikhail Fridman in business processes, you can be sure that he will find a way out this time as well.

Public activities in Jewish organizations

Friedman is an active supporter of Jewish initiatives in Russia and other European countries. In 1996, he was one of the founders of the Russian Jewish Congress, and is currently a member of the Presidium of the RJC. He makes a great contribution to the work of the European Jewish Fund, non-profit organization aimed at the development of European Jewry and the promotion of tolerance and reconciliation on the continent.

Friedman, along with Stan Polovts and three colleagues, Russian Jewish billionaires Alexander Knaster, Peter Aven and German Khan, founded the Genesis Group, whose goal is to develop and improve Jewish identity among Jews around the world. Each year, the Genesis Group Prize is presented to laureates who have achieved excellence and international fame in embodying the character of the Jewish people through adherence to national values.

At the first annual award ceremony in Jerusalem in 2014, Friedman told the audience that it was designed to inspire a new generation of Jews through the outstanding professional achievements of the winners, their contribution to human culture and commitment to Jewish values.

Membership and activities in international and Russian public structures

Since 2005, Friedman has been Russia's representative to the Council on Foreign Relations, a non-profit American organization that brings together representatives of the world establishment, whose goal is to spread the American version of democracy around the world.

Fridman is a member of numerous Russian public organizations, including the Public Chamber of Russia, the Board of Directors of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, and the National Council for Corporate Governance.

He is an active supporter of the national literary prize"Big Book" and a member of the board of the "Center for the Support of Russian Literature", focused on the implementation of cultural programs, the promotion of the ideals of humanism and respect for the values ​​of Russian culture.

Mikhail Fridman: personal life

He divorced his first wife Olga quite a long time ago, more than 10 years ago. How many children does Mikhail Fridman have? Children from the first marriage are two daughters: Ekaterina (b. 1998) and Laura (b. 1995). The girls were born and lived with their mother in Paris, where they graduated from an American school. Fully providing the ex-wife and daughters with a comfortable existence, Friedman himself had almost no contact with them.

What does the family of Mikhail Fridman look like now? For several years now, he has been living in a civil marriage with Oksana Ozhelskaya, a former employee of Alfa-Bank. According to some reports, they also have two children.

Fridman Mikhail Maratovich was born on April 21, 1964 in Lvov in a family of engineers. Father is a laureate of the USSR State Prize for the development of identification systems for military aviation.

Education

In 1986 he graduated from the Moscow Institute of Steel and Alloys (MISiS).

Labor activity

In 1986-1988 he worked as a design engineer at the Elektrostal plant (Elektrostal, Moscow Region).

Then he started doing business.

In 1988, he organized the Courier Cooperative, which specialized in window cleaning. In 1989, together with Mikhail Alfimov (from his last name comes the name "Alpha"), German Khan and Alexei Kuzmichev, he created and headed the Alfa-Photo company, which was engaged in the sale of photographic materials, computers and copying equipment.

A year later, he founded the Alfa-Eco Soviet-Swiss joint venture, which was engaged in the export of oil and metallurgical products, on the basis of which Alfa Group was later created.

In 1991, he became chairman of the board of directors of Alfa-Bank. Part of his capital is invested in Belarusian projects - Alfa-Bank, Life operator, Belmarket and BelEvroset retailers.

Later he was a member of the board of directors of the Public Russian Television (ORT) association, as well as the board of directors of the SIDANCO Oil Company and the Perekrestok trading house.

In January 1996, he became one of the founders of the Russian Jewish Congress, becoming its vice president and head of the RJC culture committee. Member of the Presidium of the Russian Jewish Congress. Provides significant support to Jewish initiatives in Russia and Europe.

Video:

In 1995-1998, he was a member of the board of directors of the television company Public Russian Television (CJSC ORT).

Positions currently held:

Co-owner and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Alfa Group consortium (which includes Alfa Bank, Alfa Capital, Alfa Insurance, Alfa Eco, X5 Retail Group, Rosvodokanal, Altimo, etc.) and LetterOne Holdings. Owns the brands Beeline, Pyaterochka, Perekrestok.

Member of the Supervisory Board of VimpelCom Ltd., member of the Bureau of the Board of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, founder and member of the Bureau of the Presidium of the Russian Jewish Congress, member of the Public Chamber of the 2006 convocation, National Council on Corporate Governance, International Advisory Council on Foreign Relations (USA).

Awards

Winner of the V National Award "Director of the Year" (2010) in the nomination "Chairman of the Board of Directors: Contribution to the Development of Corporate Governance".

In 2013 and 2017, Forbes magazine awarded him the title of "Businessman of the Year".

One of the richest Russian businessmen, regularly included in the top richest people in Forbes magazine ratings. In Russia, he has repeatedly entered the top 3 richest businessmen in the country, with the exception of 2011 and 2012. During these years, he occupied the seventh and sixth lines of the rating with a mark of 15.1 and 13.4 billion dollars, respectively. From 2013 to 2016, he was in second place (16.5 / 17.6 / 14.6 / 13.3 - a fortune in billion dollars).

In 2018, he took 89th place among the world's billionaires and eighth in Russia. Over the year, he increased his fortune to $15.1 billion, but already in April 2018, due to new US sanctions, he lost $445 million in a day.

On March 12, 2019, Forbes named the co-owner of Alfa Group the richest resident of London (his fortune is estimated at $15 billion). In the next rating of the magazine, he took 7th place among Russian businessmen (he lost $ 100 million in a year).

Interesting Facts

In 2000, his parents moved permanently to Cologne. He himself has Israeli citizenship and lives in London. owns Ukrainian.

In 2016, he bought the Victorian-era Athlone House in the UK for $90 million.

Hobbies

The billionaire's favorite hobbies are cinema, music and chess.

Family status

Divorced, ex-wife - Olga, studied with him on the same course.

Major Russian businessman.
Co-owner of the Alfa Group consortium,
which includes Alfa-Bank, Alfa-
Capital”, “Alfa-Eco”, etc. Co-owner
oil company TNK-BP. Bureau member and
Board of the Russian Union
industrialists and entrepreneurs,
Member of the Public Chamber, Vice
President of the Russian Jewish

congress.

Short biography.

consortium founder

Alfa Group

Mikhail Fridman

April 21, 1964 in Lvov, in a real devout Jewish family.
In the neighborhood, they say, the Yavlinsky family lived. True, except for the singsong
musical dialect, these two titans of modernity never
connected. Misha was late, and therefore loved and spoiled
child.

The parents of the future oligarch lived very friendly. Both worked
engineers in the "defense industry" on the "mailboxes". Both were members of the CPSU,
but at the same time maintained ties with the local Jewish community. Misha
They weren't allowed to talk about it in school. Do not take friends to the house
allowed. They were afraid of Jewish pogroms.

On important religious holidays, his father made Misha wear a kippah.
They only wore kippahs at home. By the way, Friedman still keeps his
a baby kippah at home, carefully packed in a plastic bag.

Misha was circumcised at the age of six. The circumcision was done by a representative
local community. After the operation, inflammation began. I had to
send the boy to the hospital. Parents are strongly
experienced. Mainly due to the fact that they can report to work.
However, everything worked out both on the medical and party lines. Operation
left a deep imprint in the soul of the boy. Friedman still doesn't like
orthodox Jews. Calls them "peysaty".

Today, Friedman's parents live in Cologne. Left for Germany
recently, almost the last of the entire local Jewish community.

As befits a boy from a good family, Misha was an exemplary
everyone. At school, I did well, I went to a music school
(piano), and showed organizational skills back in
early adolescence, organizing a vocal and instrumental
ensemble. He himself played in it - on the electric organ.

Always been fat. School nicknames: Zhirtrestbronsauska, Mishka-
gut, Catdog. Although Misha loved animals very much. I was only afraid
big dogs. Regarding his fullness, Mikhail Fridman worries up to
so far. At one time I even drank Thai pills. Lost some weight, but
I gained weight very quickly, and even in excess.

Two canaries lived in the Fridmans' house: Osya and Motya. When Osya died
Misha cried for a long time, but did not tell anyone why he was suffering.
Misha was a very sentimental boy. His sensitivity
hid behind ostentatious rudeness.

In the ninth grade, Misha fell deeply in love with a classmate for the first time.
Olga Carmel. The girl ignored his courtship, after which
Misha was about to commit suicide. Climbed onto the roof of a five-story building with
pack of tazepam. I wanted to poison myself and then jump off the roof, but
didn't decide. Two hours later, Misha, crying, was found on the roof by his mother and
uncle.

First steps in business

After graduating from MISiS, Fridman was assigned to the Institute
physical chemistry, where the post of deputy director was held by a certain Oleg
Kiselyov (later Chairman of the Board of Directors of Impexbank, OOO UHK
"Metalloinvest" and investment group "Renaissance Capital").

In 1988, Friedman's career as a businessman began. Together with
institute friends, he first organized the Courier cooperative,
specialized in window cleaning. And a year later, in 1989,
Fridman and Kiselyov together established the Alfa-Photo cooperative, which
was engaged in a very versatile activity: he sold computers,
copy equipment and exotic oriental handmade carpets
work. And Alfa-Photo, in turn, acted as one of two
founders of the joint venture "Alfa-Eco", the director of which was Kiselev. Through
the year dedicated to primitive accumulation was born
Alfa Bank.

The rise of Alpha was so swift that they immediately started talking about participating in
affairs of "Alpha" of criminal capital, about Friedman's acquaintance with many
crime bosses. In the bank itself they swear: they were not, we don’t know,
were not. We just decided from the very beginning to focus on power
structures. Yes, yes. Instinct to find the right people and tie
Mikhail Maratovich knows how to make friends with them.

Three years later, in 1992, when the JV moved from carpets to oil,
Friedman squeezed Kiselyov out of business. main instrument
"pressure" was the leader of the "Moskvoretskaya" organized crime group former boxer(participant
Seoul Olympics) Alexander Kurbatov, nicknamed "Kurbat". A
the last straw was the family drama.

Kiselev at that moment had an affair with one of the Moscow beauties. He
even bought her an apartment. When Kiselev, before parting with Fridman
raised the question of the division of property, Mishina is a familiar prostitute
called Kiselyov's wife and told him everything about his affair. The family almost
collapsed. Kiselev left Alfa, leaving the entire business to Fridman.

sweet deal

At the beginning of 1995, in a small Far Eastern town, a
intestinal epidemic. After examining the patients, it was found that
the cause of the poisoning was opium, which was contained in granulated sugar.
Sugar was sold at the local market.

Very quickly, the police found out that the sugar sellers had stolen it from
railway. We also found out the details of the goods that followed from
China to Moscow. And soon the Alfa-Eco office on Novy Arbat was
blocked by employees of the UEP GUVD of Moscow and OMON.

The version of the investigation was as follows: with the assistance of Aven, Alfa-Eco
through a front Chinese company entered into a contract for the supply of
granulated sugar in bags from China using the merchant fleet
Russia.

In bags on labeled pallets, along with sugar, were
plastic bags of drugs. Unloading of sugar was carried out under
control of the Chechen group, then he, along with drugs
was sent by wagons to the addresses of recipients in middle lane Russia.

The drugs were then seized and sent to Europe by couriers or
through air bases supplying the Western Group of Forces in Germany (WGF)
food products.

The money from the operation through Vienna went to the Alfa-Eco accounts, which allowed
rather quickly strengthen the financial position of this structure.

The drug story roams from one article about Alfa Group in
another. She was especially aggressive during the struggle
Alfa with Mikhail Cherny for Nizhnevartovskneftegaz (main
mining company TNK).

Mikhail Fridman he was suspected of peddling
drugs in the period of his student youth. Apparently at this time
Misha was approached by representatives of the "Bauman brigade", which needed
in a trusted network of drug dealers.

In the second half of the 80s, the main consumer of "dope" was
artistic party. Misha with his "ticket" team and connections in
bohemian environment could come in handy. By the way, one of the reasons for the departure of Kiselyov
from "Alfa-Eco" Friedman's promiscuity in business is called
(constant focus on adventure) and connections - the KGB, bandits,
prostitutes, drug dealers...

On the beginning of cooperation between Mikhail Fridman and the KGB in anti-Alfi
materials they write very timidly: “I talked with the curator of MISiS through
KGB of the USSR Kitaev Yuri Mikhailovich. Although Friedman himself to these
He takes conversations very calmly. To the KGB and special services Mikhail in
student years was absolutely loyal.

I did not see anything shameful in supplying information to
which the authorities were then interested in. "No dissenters
these goats were not interested. I myself was then a dissident. Their
I was interested in drugs, antiques, and connections with foreigners. Like those of our
Antiques were bought up and taken out.”

Even then, Friedman regarded his contacts with the KGB as a "roof" for
fartsovki. Anything that makes good money counts good business.
I am sure that business and morality are incompatible. Generally considers that no
there is no morality in nature, it was invented for beautiful chatter. What are the laws in
my coordinate system are good, and which are bad - I know and
without a state. Another thing is that I prefer to deal with the state
peaceful coexistence, and in cases where his ideas about
lives coincide with mine, I can even support him.

Rise of Alpha

By and large, the driving force behind the Fridman business was Petr
Aven, at that time the Minister of Foreign Economic Relations in the Gaidar
government. When Aven left the civil service, Friedman somehow only
he alone lured Aven to Alfa-bank by a guided way, jumping
other bankers who laid eyes on Aven. Aven knew his business: he
quickly increased the client base of Alfa-Bank, brought it to
fundamentally new, imperious orbit. Giving Fridman 50% of the shares
FinPA, Aven, in return, became the owner of a 10% stake in Alfa, and soon about
the bank was talked about as reliable and far-sighted. For now
Pyotr Aven is the President of Alfa-Bank. Subsequently, Friedman
adopted a tried and tested method - to invite the Kremlin's
officials: Deputy Prime Minister Oleg Sysuev fit perfectly into Alpha.

By the way, at one time it was Alfa-Bank that allocated a significant amount for
to secure the appointment of Yegor Gaidar as head of government
Russia (which was admitted last in a television interview with ORT). IN
in turn, becoming Deputy Prime Minister, Gaidar contributed to
provision of state loans to Alfa-Bank on concessional
conditions.

Friedman was one of the first to understand how the consortium could benefit
bring the presence in his leadership of people wearing loud
surnames. So, in 1992, the leadership of Alfa Group appeared twice
Hero of the Soviet Union, pilot-cosmonaut, the first native of the open air
space and, in addition, the artist Alexei Arkhipovich Leonov. Now he
holds the post of vice president of Alfa-Bank, performing more
representative functions.

But in 1992, Leonov "Alpha" helped a lot. Then just created
voucher investment fund Alfa Capital, and it was required to attract
him as many participants as possible. Alpha was interested in
directors of major industrial enterprises and military factories
industrial complex. The old guard was skeptical
youngsters. And Alexey Arkhipovich was friends with almost everyone, spoke
consultant. “We will sit down, remember the past, drink a glass, and that’s it.
directors join our fund,” said the legendary cosmonaut.

As for the aforementioned Oleg Sysuev, former mayor Samara, and
later deputy head of the Kremlin administration, he personally
knows the head of almost every Russian region and turned out to be
indispensable in working with them. Now Sysuev occupies the post of the First
Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors of Alfa-Bank. So
employ former Kremlin officials whom Yeltsin
clicked from his ship weekly - a matter not only humane,
but also beneficial.

Alfa-Bank today

In 2007, Global Finance magazine recognized Alfa-Bank as the best
Russian bank in the field of trade finance. In 2006, the magazine
Euromoney chose Alfa-Bank as the best service provider in the field
currency transactions in Russia based on survey 6322
institutional investors and professional participants in the foreign exchange
market.

Now Alfa-Bank is a universal bank, carrying out
all major types of banking operations on the market
financial services, including servicing private and corporate
clients, investment banking, trade finance and
asset Management.

Alfa-Bank is one of the largest banks in Russia in terms of size
assets and equity. According to the audited financial
financial statements (IFRS) for the first half of 2006, the assets of Alfa-
Bank”, which includes JSC Alfa-Bank, subsidiaries and financial
companies amounted to $12.3 billion.

Alfa-Bank serves more than 40 thousand corporate clients and
more than 1.8 million individuals. Lending activity of Alfa-Bank
includes trade lending, working capital lending and
capital investments, trade and project financing.

Successfully developing investment business Alfa Bank. Bank
works effectively in the capital markets, securities with a fixed
profitability, currency and money markets, in the field of operations with
derivatives. The bank consistently holds the position of one of the leading
operators and market makers on the external market of sovereign Russian
bonds and debt instruments of the Russian corporate sector.

Alfa-Bank created an extensive branch network - the most important channel
distribution of services and products. In Moscow, regions of Russia and beyond
more than 205 branches and branches of the bank have been opened abroad, including
subsidiary banks in Kazakhstan and the Netherlands, financial subsidiary
company in the USA.

Privatization of TNK

According to the consolidated privatization plan, OAO TNK included 10
enterprises:
— oil and gas producing enterprises: OAO Nizhnevartovskneftegaz,
JSC "Tyumenneftegaz" Also, OAO TNK had licenses for the right
subsoil use at 23 fields and 5 exploration blocks;
— OAO Ryazan Oil Refinery;
— enterprises supplying petroleum products in five regions of Russia (JSC
Tyumennefteprodukt, Kursknefteprodukt, Ryazannefteprodukt,
"Kaluganefteprodukt", "Tulanefteprodukt"), including more than 90
tank farms with a reserve capacity of 714 thousand square meters, as well as
stationary and mobile filling stations;
— specialized enterprises JSC SpetsUBR and JSC
"Obneftegaz geology".

In July 1997, a 40% stake in TNK was bought at an investment competition by
the New Holding company founded by Alfa Group and Renova. She
paid $25 million for the shares and committed to fulfill the investment program for
$810 million. At the same time, the market value of all shares at the time
privatization amounted to $5 billion. In addition, out of 810
million the state received only 170, and the rest of the cash
funds were left by TNCs for the development of production. Accounts Chamber
clarified the fate of the funds remaining in the TNK and admitted that they were
used inappropriately. According to the results of the audit of the Accounts Chamber
a criminal case was initiated, within the framework of which searches were carried out. IN
2000 based on the materials of one of the inspections Investigative Committee under the Ministry of Internal Affairs
even opened a criminal case under the article "fraud". Investigators
believed that the share price was undervalued, and "the conditions were formulated
under Alpha. But the case against New Holding was closed,
because the company was liquidated.

After that, the epic began to expel the ambitious
Viktor Paly, General Director of a key enterprise of TNK,
Nizhnevartovskneftegaz, which ended for Alpha and Renova
successfully. In 1998, Alfa and Renova bought out 9% of the shares from private
shareholders and acquired about 1% at a specialized auction. IN
In 1999, they acquired a 49.8% stake in TNK on a new investment
competition. As a result, 99.9% of TNK shares were controlled on parity
the beginnings of "Alpha" and "Renova".

The style of behavior of the new owners of TNCs was distinguished by rigidity.
The first was the conflict with Sidanco, which began in 1998 after the purchase
TNK in the framework of the bankruptcy procedure of the key component of "Sidanco" -
JSC Chernogorneft. In Sidanco, this deal was regarded as an attempt to
cheap "pull" the company with the help of arbitration courts (only for
"Montenegrin" was paid $ 176 million, which was even lower than the starting
prices of $200 million). The actions of TNK against Sidanco caused a negative
reaction in the United States, as one of the shareholders of the "offended" company
US-British BP Amoko performed. As a result
The US State Department blocked the allocation of TNCs for some time
US Eximbank loan.

However, a compromise was nevertheless found: in 2001, TNK became part of
shareholders of Sidanco, having redeemed for a real price (more than $1 billion) a share
"Interros", which previously had a controlling stake in the company.
The majority on the board of directors is now owned by TNK, however
the company will be managed for another three years
management of BP Amoko, headed by Robert Sheppard. These were
conditions that allowed TNCs to "correct" their image and "build"
relationship with such an influential minority shareholder (10% of shares)
Sidanko, like BP Amoko.

In 2000, TNK acquired a controlling stake in the Orenburg oil
ONAKO company, and then got involved in a conflict with Slavneft for
control over its subsidiaries (in particular, in Yaroslavl).
However, after the decisive actions of the head of Slavneft Mikhail
Gutseriev's expansion of TNK was stopped.

However, in the end, TNK and Sibneft jointly acquired
Slavneft in December 2002.

Investoil LLC (winner of the auction for the sale of the state-owned stake
Slavneft) was owned by Sibneft and TNK on a parity basis.

Sibneft and TNK each contributed 50 percent of the $1.86 billion for which
acquired 74.95 percent of Slavneft.

TNK-BP

September 1, 2003 one of the largest international oil
British Petroleum (BP) and Alfa Group together with
holding Access/Renova announced the conclusion of a strategic
partnership and intention to combine their oil assets in the territory
Russia and Ukraine. The result of the agreement was the creation of a holding
TNK-BP. The new holding is the third Russian company by stock size
and oil production volumes.

BP and Alfa/Access/Renova (AAR) each own 50% of TNK-BP's shares.
AAR contributed its stakes in TNK companies to the new holding
International, ONAKO, SIDANKO, shares in RUSIA Petroleum (owner
licenses for the development of the Kovykta gas condensate field
and Verkhnechonskoye oil and gas field), gas producing
enterprise "Rospan International" in Western Siberia (development of Novo-
Urengoy and Vostochno-Urengoy deposits). BP's contribution was
her stake in SIDANCO, a stake in RUSIA Petroleum and a stake
shares of the Moscow network of gas stations. AAR's shareholdings
OAO Slavneft and BP's stake in LukArco, as well as Russian
BP assets in oil trading, offshore and
air transportation, the production of lubricants did not become part of
deals. As an addition to the transferred assets, BP made
cash in the amount of $2.6 billion.

In January 2004, BP and AAR entered into an agreement in accordance with
which AAR's stake in Slavneft (47.5%) was included in
composition of TNK-BP (previously 95% of Slavneft's shares belonged to AAR and
"Sibneft" on a parity basis). For half of AAR's shareholding in
Slavneft (23.75%) was paid $1.35 billion by British Petroleum.

At the moment, TNK-BP includes 13 oil producing
enterprises, 5 oil refineries (including
Lisichansk Oil Refinery). Retail network companies includes approximately 2
100 filling stations in Russia and Ukraine operating under brands
TNK and BP.

Friedman

through your company

Alfa Group

owns 25% of shares

merged company.

Food retail

One of the richest Russian businessmen, Mikhail Fridman, whose
fortune is estimated at more than $ 10 billion, owns assets in
most key sectors of the Russian economy: oil,
banking, telecommunications, insurance. However, Friedman himself
does not hide the fact that retail trade today for him is one of
priorities: “We see unlimited prospects for this business
development".

In May 2006, the businessman managed to make a deal,
unprecedented for the Russian market both in terms of volume ($1.178 billion) and
and in importance - the leaders of the retail market in Russia have never
did not unite. Alfa Group acquired the Pyaterochka chain of discounters
and merged the stores with its Perekrestok supermarket chain. IN
As a result, X5 Retail Group was created. As part of the "Pyaterochka"
at the beginning of 2006 worked 751 supermarkets, including 404
franchising. "Crossroads" at the time of the merger united 130
stores, including 88 supermarkets, seven hypermarkets and 34
supermarket (nine of them are franchised).

Even the network interconnection scheme turned out to be extraordinary. Purchase
was carried out in two stages. First, Mikhail Fridman and top managers
Perekrestok sold a 100% stake in Pyaterochka for $1.365 billion.
After that, Alfa Group bought out 54% of the shares of the combined company for
$ 1.178 billion. Friedman himself became its largest shareholder, receiving
a share of 21.6%.

“Our retail asset shows the highest growth rates,” —
Friedman said immediately after the deal. Indeed, the dynamics
development of the Russian network grocery retail today is much
ahead of European retailers, showing an average of 20-30% growth
against 5-10% for chains in Europe. Friedman's stores are no exception. So,
in the nine months of 2006, Pyaterochka's net sales increased by
43.3% compared to the same period last year, amounting to
$1.4 billion. Sales of Perekrestok over the same period increased by
47.3% - up to $1 billion.

Friedman plans to bring sales of X5 Retail Group to $6 by 2008
billion. And these plans do not seem impossible.

Telecommunications

In early April 2001, Alfa-Bank bought for $110 million a 44.38% stake
holding "Golden Telecom", which includes operators of wired communication and
Internet providers. Subsequently, Golden Telecom grew,
merged its assets with OAO Combellga, and at the moment Alfe
owns 29.9% of the combined company, 20.2%
owned by Norway's Telenor, which is controlled by the government
Scandinavian country.

In May 2001, Alfa Group acquired a blocking
stake in the largest mobile operator in Russia - OJSC
VimpelCom (trademark Beeline). At the moment, Alfa Group
owns 35.8% of voters and 24.5% ordinary shares OJSC
Vimpelcom. 26.6% of the voting shares of VimpelCom are owned by
Telenor company.

In June-September 2002, Alfa acquired a 50.1% stake for $80 million
Storm, which owns a 40.1% stake in the Ukrainian cellular company
Kyivstar GSM. And already in March 2005, Alpha increased to 100%
its share in Storm, which by that time owned 43.49% of the shares
the second largest mobile operator in Ukraine. people
close to the former President of Ukraine Leonid Kuchma, Alfa
paid $250 million for a 49.9% stake in Storm. 56.51% of Kyivstar
belongs to the same Norwegian Telenor.

In August 2003, Alfa-Eco acquired a 25.1% stake for $295 million.
operator "Megaphone". 43.7% of the shares of the mobile operator Megafon
belongs to the Swedish-Finnish company TeliaSonera (35.6% - directly and
8.1% - through Telecominvest).

In 2004, in order to consolidate telecommunications assets
investment holding "Alfa-Group" the Group of Companies was created
Alfa-Telecom, which in the same year also bought 100% of the shares
Uzbek operator Buztel.

In autumn 2005, Alfa-Telecom, later renamed Altimo,
announced that it became an indirect owner of 13.22% of Turkcell shares. Altimo
gave Cukurova Group $1.59 billion for a 49% stake in its subsidiary Cukurova
Telecom Holdings (CTH), which controls Turkcell through Turkcell
Holding. As part of the deal, Alfa Telecom also provided Cukurova
Group six-year loan for $1.707 billion to pay off debt
to the state banking fund TMSF.

Turkcell Holding currently owns 51% of Turkcell shares. Cukurova
Telecom Holdings controls 53% of Turkcell Holding, other 47% shares
the asset is owned by TeliaSonera. In CTH itself, 51% of the shares are controlled by
Cukurova Group, and the remaining 49% of the shares are owned by Altimo. Directly
Cukurova Group owns about 7% of Turkcell shares, while TeliaSonera owns
13.07%. 23.4% of Turkcell shares are in open circulation. So
Thus, directly and indirectly, TeliaSonera owns 37.04% of cellular
operator Turkcell.

Together with the shares of Turkcell, Alfa received a stake in Ukrainian
operators "Digital cellular Ukraine" (trademark "DCC") and
"Astelit" (trademark "Life"). Alfa's indirect share in these
companies is 7%, but in fact we are talking about a blocking
package (51%).

In November 2005, VimpelCom, with the support of Alfa, bought 100%
shares of the mobile operator "Ukrainian Radio Systems" (trademark
Wellcom), ultimately paying $254.5 million for it. Based on
material base of "Ukrainian Radio Systems" since 2005, "Alpha" came out
to the Ukrainian mobile communications market under the Beeline brand.

Media

In the spring of 1998, after long negotiations, an American corporation
Story First Communications lost 25 percent of shares to Alfa Group
plus one share of the television network "STS" (CJSC "Network of Television Stations") for
$56 million

Since that time, the STS television network has been transformed into the CTC media holding
Media Inc., registered in the US state of Delaware and Alpha
group was able to increase its stake to 31.5%. However, in April 2006
As a result of the STS IPO, the share of Alfa Group in the company decreased to
26,1%.

Currently, CTC Media Inc. owns STS TV channels and
"Home". The largest shareholders of CTC Media are the Swedish
Modern Times Group (39.8%), Alfa Group (26.1%), Baring Vostok funds
(9.99%), Fidelity Investments (5.4%) and head of the company Alexander
Rodnyansky (4%).

Alfa's ownership structure

Alfa has three main owners - Mikhail Fridman, German Khan and
Alexey Kuzmichev. Friedman himself previously admitted that he owns about
40% of the group. Until 2004, Alfa Group's parent company was CTF
Holdings (CTFH), which owned all the assets through a chain of offshore
groups. In 2004 Alfa restructured: financial assets
(the main ones are Alfa-Bank and Alfastrakhovanie) were withdrawn to
a separate structure - ABH Holdings Corp. (ABHH), which became the second
parent company of the group.

As follows from the reporting according to the international standards of Alfa Group
for 2005, the main shareholders own 100% of one of the two
parent companies of the group - CTF Holdings. In another maternal
company - ABH Holdings Corp. they own 77.86%. Most
subsidiaries of CTF Holdings, the three main owners of Alfa have junior
partners are the heads of these enterprises (about 75% - in the main
owners, and the remaining 25% according to the proposed Friedman
philosophies are everywhere transferred under the option program to managers
businesses). The main owners of Alfa Group are generous to managers,
working in their companies. Papers they receive as an incentive
For better job. True, as follows from the reporting, dispose of
shares in Alpha companies, they are not free - they cannot sell these
papers on the side, and in case of death or disability
of a minority shareholder, his share is necessarily redeemed
company. Reporting says it's part of ABH's bylaws.
Holdings, as well as agreements of shareholders of the main subsidiaries of CTF Holdings
— Alfa Finance and Alfa Telecom. The purchase price is calculated based on
the value of 110% of the company's net assets in accordance with the latest
approved annual (or, at the request of the option holder, at the end
previous quarter) consolidated financial statements under IFRS.

The owners of Alfa's financial business are known: they were revealed in
preliminary prospectus for the issue of Alfa-Bank Eurobonds. In him
Fridman owns 36.47%, Khan - 23.27%, Kuzmichev - 18.12% (this is
major shareholders), to the president of the bank Petr Aven - 13.76%,
founder of Pamplona Capital investment fund, former top manager
Alfa Bank to Alex Knaster - 4.3%, member of the board of directors of Alfa Capital
Partners and the chairman of the investment committee of the bank Andrey
Kosogov - 4.08% (these are minority shareholders).

But who are the partners of Fridman, Khan and Kuzmichev in
telecommunications business, not disclosed. In one of the press
releases, for example, Alpha noted that three "individuals" are
beneficiaries of 22.14% of Alfa Finance Holdings SA, which owns a stake in
TNK-BP and Turkish mobile operator Turkcell. Analysts suggest
that these are the same Aven, Kosogov and Knaster with the same shares as in ABH
Holding Corp. Altimo lists five minority shareholders who own
26.31%. According to analysts, this is the same trinity plus former manager
Alfa-Eco Gleb Fetisov, as well as advisor to the board of Alfa-Bank
Alexander Tolchinsky. Previously, Tolchinsky was also a co-owner of Alfa
Finance Holdings SA and ABH Holdings Corp, but at the end of 2006 sold
1% of these companies, while Altimo retained 1%.

After the merger of Pyaterochka and Perekrestok into the combined company X5
Retail Group Lev Khasis owns 1.8%, Alexander Kosyanenko -
3.4%, and the head of Altimo Alexei Reznikovich - 1%.

You can read more about the aspects of Alpha's activities in
biographies of German Khan, Alexei Kuzmichev and Pyotr Aven.

Source: Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org

The material was prepared on the basis of information from open sources