By Exec Edge Editorial Staff
Businessman Nikita Mishin has sold his stake in Globaltrans, the Abu Dhabi-based freight rail transportation group that he co-founded 20 years ago, the company and news sources reported. Aqniet Capital, a Kazakhstan-based investment company, acquired Mishin’s stake in January 2024, along with the shares of Globaltrans co-founders Konstantin Nikolaev and Sergey Maltsev, the group’s Chairman.
Mishin set up Globaltrans in 2004 with fellow entrepreneurs Nikolaev, Maltsev, Andrey Filatov and Alexander Eliseev, who is also in the process of selling his shares. The company went public on the London Stock Exchange in 2008. Since its listing, Globaltrans has more than doubled in size; it currently has more than 66,000 rail cars. It specializes in the transportation of both bulk and liquid cargo across the CIS states.
Upon the completion of the transactions, Aqniet will own 31.62 percent of the company’s issued share capital and have full associated voting rights. The majority of Globaltrans shares (56.2 percent) remain in free-float.
The company’s shareholders approved a redomiciliation from Cyprus to the free economic zone in Abu Dhabi in 2023, a move that is expected to enable Globaltrans to resume paying dividends. The redomiciliation was completed in February 2024.
Mikhail Burmistrov, the head of Infoline-Analytics, considers Globaltrans a good investment for Aqniet, saying that the company is transparent and highly efficient. It holds assets in key segments and owns a promising tanker operator, according to Kommersant, a leading Russian business news organization.
Aqniet is owned by Kairat Itemgenov, an entrepreneur whose businesses include Kazakh pharmacy chain Europharma, logistics company Satti Logistics and KBI Energy, which repairs and installs large-scale power generating equipment.
Mishin, who lives in the United Kingdom, said that he plans to use the proceeds from his divestiture for his charitable projects, which focus on education, as well as investments.
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