– The Munich energy technology group Siemens Energy is parting with its gas turbine joint venture with the Russian Power Machines as part of its withdrawal from Russia. The 65 percent stake will be sold to the Russian state utility InterRAO, a spokesman for Siemens Energy confirmed in a report by the Interfax news agency. A Siemens Energy transformer plant in Voronezh is also going to InterRAO. “We no longer see any prospects in the Russian market for the foreseeable future and are aiming to sell or wind up our business,” said the spokesman. “We’re making good progress on this.” Both companies declined to comment on the sale price. Siemens Energy stopped new business in Russia in March and put its subsidiaries there up for sale in August.
Behind Power Machines is the oligarch Alexei Mordashov. According to Interfax, the buyer of the majority stake in the joint venture is the Dutch RAO Intertech BV, which belongs to InterRAO. An InterRAO representative told Reuters the takeover of the gas turbine maker was aimed at securing local production of gas turbines. “There are unique high-tech production machines in the plant,” he said. The maintenance of foreign-made turbines must also be organized after the companies and their specialists have withdrawn from Russia. The demand for modern turbines and transformers will be huge in the near future, InterRAO explained. The transformer plant in Voronezh has been in operation since 2012 and, according to the new majority owner, has a 25 percent market share.