Timur Artyomov, who until mid-September was one of the two owners of Euroset, told RIA Novosti of his intention to invest in the Institute of Biology of Aging, which he had founded a year and a half earlier. "I decided that science is a more understandable pursuit for me," the agency quoted him as saying.
On September 22, it became known that Artyomov and Yevgeny Chichvarkin had sold 100% of Euroset's shares to structures belonging to Alexander Mamut. According to unofficial data, the deal amounted to $400 million, excluding the company's debt of $850 million. It is unknown what Chichvarkin, who remains one of Euroset's top managers for now, will do.
Artyomov explained the need to sell the asset by the fact that the company had recently encountered a number of difficulties. At the same time, he hinted that officials might also be to blame for Euroset's troubles. "The very top of the state treated our letters attentively; we were heard by ministers and other very high-ranking people. We are grateful to them for not letting those who are lower in rank but have greater opportunities make the company's situation really bad," Artyomov said.
Rumors about the sale of Euroset began to spread in mid-2008. After that, a search was conducted in the company's central office, and Vice President Boris Levin and Deputy Head of Security Andrei Yermilov were arrested. They are suspected of kidnapping, extortion, and arbitrariness.
Among the potential buyers of Euroset, many Russian companies were mentioned, including the mobile operator MTS. It is still unknown how Alexander Mamut will develop one of Russia's largest retail chains.
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