Cherkizovo Group has closed the deal to buy a 50% stake in Tambov Turkey (Pava-Pava brand), the second largest turkey producer in Russia, from Spain’s Grupo Fuertes.

AIC Mikhailovsky, part of Cherkizovo Group, acquired a 50 % stake in the authorized capital of Tambov Turkey from Grupo Fuertes. In exchange for 1,175,000 new shares issued by the Group and valued at RUB 3.6 bn during a public offering. As a result, Grupo Fuertes’ stake in the authorized capital of Cherkizovo Group rose from 8.58 % to 11.12 %.

Cherkizovo Group’s consolidation of 100% in Tambov Turkey was approved by the Federal Antimonopoly Service of Russia in December. The legal advisor of the transaction was Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton.

The Tambov Turkey joint venture was established by Cherkizovo Group and Grupo Fuertes on a parity basis in 2012. Its first stage was launched in 2015, and in 2017 it started offering Pava-Pava-branded products, such as chilled chop meat and ready-to-cook products with natural spices. In the summer of 2020, the second stage of Tambov Turkey was launched to increase its total annual capacity to 85,000 tonnes of meat products. In 2021, production totalled about 80,000 tonnes.

“We are grateful to our friends and partners from Grupo Fuertes for 10 year of their cooperation on Tambov Turkey project. Over the years, we have learnt a lot from them in terms of management, creation of products which meet European quality standards and got access to the advanced production technologies. I am sure that as a significant shareholder of Cherkizovo, Grupo Fuertes will continue making good use of their vast experience in the agri-industry to further develop all business segments of our company”, commented Sergey Mikhailov, CEO of Cherkizovo Group.

“We are very satisfied with the partnership that we started a decade ago with the Cherkizovo Group. For Grupo Fuertes, this new coalition is a step forward in our relationship with the group, as we increase our percentage in the company and we consolidate a strategic relationship that unites us. We are committed, not only with turkey, but also with chicken and pork, mainly focusing on a firm and future-oriented strategic market such as Russia. We share the same strategy and most importantly, the same values”, affirms Rafael Fuertes, from Grupo Fuertes.