Svyaznoy Network LLC plans to file a petition with the Moscow Arbitration Court to declare itself bankrupt. This is reported by Interfax with reference to the Fedresurs. The statement notes that the company has shown signs of bankruptcy as defined by the Law on Insolvency (Bankruptcy). The creditors are named as Sovcombank, Alfa-Bank, Merlion LLC, RB Factoring LLC, and VimpelCom.
History of the Chain and Problems
The Svyaznoy company appeared in Moscow in 1995 under the name Maxus; it was registered by Maxim Nogotkov. The Svyaznoy brand emerged in 2002. In the 2010s, Nogotkov ran into problems, and entrepreneur Oleg Malis acquired the company for debts. According to Svyaznoy's website, in recent years the chain united more than 2,600 stores in 1,100 Russian cities, employing about 13,000 sales consultants.
After the start of the special military operation in Ukraine in 2022, global electronics manufacturers stopped supplies to Russia. As CNews notes, this was the final blow for the retailer: the chain was unable to fulfill equipment deliveries under contracts concluded back in 2021. In July 2022, lawsuits began to be filed against Svyaznoy for non-fulfillment of obligations. The plaintiffs were Alfa-Bank, Sovcombank, distributor Merlion, and VimpelCom (Beeline trademark). In total, they demanded 14.2 billion rubles.
Court Decisions
In December 2022, VimpelCom won 840 million rubles from Svyaznoy as a refund of a previously paid advance. At the same time, banks sought to recover more than 8 billion rubles from the chain, but then the proceedings on the claims were terminated. In January 2023, Merlion won 5 billion rubles due to debt for supplies of Apple, Xiaomi, and Digma equipment. Svyaznoy did not deny the debt but objected to the amount, pointing to a lack of evidence of delivery in the stated volumes; the court disagreed with this argument. Meanwhile, the chain closed more than 400 stores.
Back in October 2022, Sovcombank filed a notice of intent to apply to court with a bankruptcy petition against Svyaznoy. In January 2023, Aviapark Trade and Exhibition Complex JSC expressed the same intention.
Lawyer's Opinion and Connection with Euroset
Oleg Permyakov, a partner at the law firm Rustam Kurmaev & Partners, told CNews that given the substantial debt burden and the company's small revenue (15.2 million rubles at the end of 2021), the introduction of bankruptcy proceedings is highly likely. According to him, if Svyaznoy fails to restructure its debts, the chain may eventually cease to exist, since in Russia most procedures end with the sale of the debtor's property and subsequent exclusion from the Unified State Register of Legal Entities. The expert also believes that the chain's bankruptcy will not have significant consequences for the market due to the large number of retailers.
Svyaznoy was created by Maxim Nogotkov in 1995. In 2015, Oleg Malis took control of the offshore company Trellas, which united Svyaznoy and other Nogotkov assets, for debts. In 2017, simultaneously with negotiations between VimpelCom and MegaFon on the division of Euroset, negotiations began between MegaFon and Oleg Malis on the merger of Euroset with Svyaznoy. Euroset was created by entrepreneurs Yevgeny Chichvarkin and Timur Artemyev. In 2008, the company was acquired by Alexander Mamut, who soon resold a blocking stake to VimpelCom. After some time, Euroset was headed by Alexander Malis, Oleg Malis's brother. In 2012, Euroset was divided on a parity basis between VimpelCom and MegaFon. In 2017, the parties agreed on a division: VimpelCom took half of the stores — 1,800 — and paid MegaFon 1.25 billion rubles against Euroset's debts; Euroset itself remained with MegaFon.
The Svyaznoy Group appeared in 2018 through the merger of the Svyaznoy and Euroset chains. In the new company, Solvers received 75% minus one share, and MegaFon received 25% plus one share. At the end of 2022, MegaFon sold its stake in Svyaznoy. Vedomosti wrote that the stake could have gone to Oleg Malis.
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