October 22, 2010 By James Kimer

TGK-2 and the Putin Discount

Another example from the bruising world of Russian corporate governance, minority rights, and rule of law, illustrating why the stock market remains discounted by 40% below other emerging market rivals.  From the Wall Street Journal:

Things went awry at TGK-2. As the financial crisis struck in late 2008, Germany’s RWE pulled out of an agreement to buy the company for $800 million in partnership with Leonid Lebedev, a billionaire Russian senator. His investment company, Kores, ended up as the company’s majority shareholder. Mr. Lebedev has refused to pay more than $300 million owed to minority shareholders who tendered stock in the TGK-2 mandatory offer. They include local and foreign investors, including Prosperity Capital Management, a fund with $1 billion invested in Russia’s energy sector.