Putin names little known firm to run pharma company spun off from Germany's Stada

By Gleb Bryanski

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's president Vladimir Putin has appointed a little known company to manage assets linked to major German pharmaceutical firm Stada, according to a decree published on Friday.

Since the start of the invasion of Ukraine and subsequent flight of many foreign businesses, Putin has issued several decrees to transfer foreign-owned assets to "temporary management", mostly by the state.

In late 2023, Stada spun off its Russian business into a separate company called Nizhpharm, which was to operate independently and autonomously. In its 2023 results presentation the company said it had exited Russia.

Nizhpharm is ranked among the top 10 companies operating in Russia's $25 billion pharmaceutical market, which has escaped Western sanctions and is still dominated by international giants.

Nizhpharm is owned by Luxembourg-based Nidda Lynx S.a r.l., defined in Stada's 2024 report as "a subsidiary of an indirect parent entity" of the group parent firm Nidda German Topco GmbH.

The decree said that the temporary management will be carried out by a Russian pharmaceutical distribution company called Pharmirus.

Temporary management has previously been introduced at

Russian subsidiaries of a dozen foreign companies, including Danish brewer Carlsberg, Finnish utility Fortum, German utility Uniper and French yoghurt maker Danone. Western companies and legal consultants have described it as a way for Russia to seize and redistribute assets.

However, in a reverse decision, Italian water heating firm Ariston Holding said on March 26 it had returned into possession of its Russian unit after Putin annulled last year's decision to seize it.

Putin asked the government in March to outline procedures for Western companies to return to Russia. But he said there would be no easy road back for companies that had "slammed the door defiantly" when they pulled out of the country, and some would find that their niches had already been filled by Russian competitors.

Stada postponed a planned initial public offering (IPO) earlier this year in Frankfurt, sources told Reuters, because of market volatility related to geopolitical situation.

($1 = 85.2455 roubles)

(Reporting by Gleb Bryanski; editing by David Evans)