HELSINKI, FINLAND: Ponsse Plc has sold all shares in OOO Ponsse, its subsidiary that provided PONSSE services in Russia and Belarus. Today on 28 June 2022, Ponsse signed the deed of sale, according to which Ponsse’s operations in Russia will transfer to OOO Bison once the conditions of the transaction have been met. Ponsse announced its intention to divest its operations in Russia on 15 June 2022.
The buyer OOO Bison is owned by Aleksey Voronkevich, whose company Dormashimport has been responsible for the retail of PONSSE forest machines in the eastern parts of Russia since 2007.
The companies will not disclose the price of the transaction. The sale will not have any significant impact on Ponsse’s result, and Ponsse will not record any significant impairment or profit on its Q2 income statement as a result of the sale.
Ponsse Plc will classify the operations now sold as assets available for sale and report them as discontinued operations, a statement said.
The more detailed financial implications of the transaction are currently being assessed and the comparative figures of 2021 and profit guidance for the current year will be updated to correspond to the new business structure at the latest in connection with the mid-year report. Ponsse will publish its mid-year report on 9 August 2022.
The transaction is expected to be closed by the end of Q3/2022. The transaction requires the approval of the local competition authorities.
Sales in Russia and Belarus have accounted for roughly 20 per cent of Ponsse’s net sales based on the 2021 financial statements. Ponsse’s export and service operations in Russia have been suspended since 2 March 2022 when the company announced that it will suspend all exports to Russia and Belarus. At the same time, OOO Ponsse suspended its local spare parts and maintenance services.
