Who’s going to pay on the debt issued by the former head of Svyaznoy group
May 16, in the Khamovniki court held its first hearing on the case concerning debt collection from Maxim Nogotkov — known businessman, the former owner of Svyaznoy group. According to the newspaper “Kommersant”, the structure of “Financial investments”, which is controlled by the UK “Trinfiko, demands in court from Nogotkov 2.5 billion rubles.
How to create an Empire
When “Financial investment” was given credit, Maxim Nogotkov was in the top 100 richest people in Russia according to Forbes, his business prospered. Despite his younger years, the billionaire has managed to create one of the most successful retail projects in the country.
The business he started still a schoolboy, selling pirated rewritten by a program for domestic computers BK-0010. But by 1993, the history of Soviet computer family ended together with the collapse of the country. Marigolds also graduated from school and entered the Moscow state technical University on faculty of Informatics and control systems. Entrepreneurship entailed Maxim not less than the computers. Having gone on a sabbatical, he opened his first firm, calling it consonant with its name — “Maxus”. The company traded automatic number identifiers for phones.
The business took off, turnover reached fabulous at the time 10 thousand dollars a month. In 1997, young Nails has become a dollar millionaire. In University he never came back — he entered the Moscow business school MIRBIS.
By 2002, stores “Maksus” has acquired a new, familiar name of “the Messenger”. But demand for products for fixed-line phones fell, and Marigold quickly changed the profile of their business. He made a bet on mobile phones, following the example of Yevgeny Chichvarkin, whose shops “the Euronetwork” operated on the market for several years.
In 2004 Nogotkov, the President of Svyaznoy group, expanded retail network, changed the product line. “Euroset” had to move. And in 2006 Maxim as $ 500 million included in the top 33 young entrepreneurs by magazine “Finans”.
And then he was interested in a new trend in Russian society — a consumer credit boom. In 2010, Nogotkov acquired a “Promtorgbank” and renamed it “the Messenger”. Have focused on credit cards. Anchor the product was innovative for the market: at the same time and debit (on the balance in the account accrue high interest rates), and credit cards. They were issued not only in the same stores for large-scale coverage of the population opened their own branches and offices across the country.
In debt as in silks
Experts believe that this pivotal event was the beginning of the end of the business Empire of Maxim, although, ironically, in 2010, he won the award for “entrepreneur of the year” in the contest of the largest auditing company Ernst & Young.
Another non-core to the business of Nails has opened in the same year 2010 — a network of jewelry stores Pandora. However, about the underlying asset, bringing money to him, namely, the sale of mobile devices, Maxim is not completely forgotten. Trying to ride the emerging boom in Russia on the iPhone, Nails without intermediaries able to negotiate with Apple about selling its products in its new online store Enter.
Inert Russian society in 2011, it was not quite ready for active online sales, many still had the fear of entering the credit cards in the Internet. To further advance store required funds.
Maxim Nogotkov started to actively borrow money to develop their new projects. By this time he has created a multi-step scheme of ownership by legal entities: a network of salons “the Messenger” ran the company “Svyaznoy Logistika”, it was controlled by Svyaznoy N. V., the parent company was made by Trellas. But at all levels of the business was mortgaged to creditors, such as Sberbank, Promsvyazbank, ONEXIM, “GLOBEKS”.
According to various estimates, Enter one only invested about $ 300 million. On other projects Nogotkov, mostly non-core, such as online cinema TVzor, technology for targeting Internet advertising and VisualDNA Park “Nikola-Lenivets”, it took at least 100 million dollars that was taken from the credits and the profits of the stores, “Svyaznoy”.
Loans Nogotkov issued quickly and readily because in 2012 he entered in the Golden hundred of billionaires according to Forbes with a fortune of $ 1.3 billion.
In addition, Marigold went into politics, which is not played into his hands. At the election of the President of the Russian Federation in 2012, he made a confidant of the main opposition candidate Mikhail Prokhorov. Marigold has invested a million dollars in the Internet-project “Geopolis” — officially positioned as a civil platform for interaction of the society with officials, in fact, engaged in criticism of the authorities.
Default entire life
Svyaznoy Bank grew rapidly and entered the top 100 largest credit institutions of Russia. But involved extensive development investments did not have time to fight back. The Central Bank recommended that management “Liaison” to limit the pace of development.
It is now clear that Maxim Nogotkov has knocked down two of his project: Svyaznoy Bank, burned on risk management and have lost the license of the Central Bank in 2015, and online store Enter, which was chosen as inappropriate to its time business model. A billionaire for too long held on to them, instead of developing what he does best — Telecom-retail.
The most important asset of the entrepreneur — the company Trellas, crowning the whole pyramid, on 51 percent was laid Anexia. Friendship with Prokhorov did not help. In the second half of 2014 in the banking sector broke out a large-scale crisis, and Maxim Nogotkov was unable to pay the creditor. Then ONEXIM has assigned the right of demand on the debt of group Solvers Oleg Malis, the result who took control of 51% Trellas and, accordingly, the network of “Svyaznoy”.
Now “Financial investments” are suing the Maxim Nogotkov because of the loan of three billion rubles, issued in 2012 his company Kamestra. The amount was allocated for a Deposit of 15 percent of Dutch Svyaznoy N. V. (holding company of the retailer “Svyaznoy”), 35% shares of the Bank “Svyaznoy” and the surety Nogotkov.
In early 2015 the lender to foreclose on the mortgaged package in connection with the failure Kamestra obligations under the contract. But given the foreclosure action and that the loan was partially repaid, the plaintiff has decided to demand from Nogotkov not three billion rubles, with interest, and of 2.52 billion.
The new management of “Svyaznoy” in the face of structures of Oleg Malis refused to pay for “Financial investment” debts of the former owner. As told “Kommersant” in the Solvers, the claim “Financial investments” trying to create the impression that the debt they should return the group “the Messenger” that is “fundamentally wrong”.
At the same time managing Director of TRINFICO (represents the interests of “Financial investments”) Vitaly Balanovich told the publication that the company has the right of claim to Maxim Nogotkov, but he did not rule out the claim to Oleg Malis. At the moment, waiting for the plaintiff, whether the Nails will react to judicial requirements, or by the example of his colleague Evgeny Chichvarkin, the former owner of Euroset, will remain out of reach abroad.
The “Coherent” there are other creditors, including the Bank “Globex”, whose claims about the repayment of debt after the transition “Liaison” to the other hand also not satisfied. To date, the duty to “Globex” is more than 50 million euros.
Incorrigible optimist
The story of the UPS and downs of Maxim Nogotkov could serve as a solid basis for a Hollywood movie. Man, once ranked in the Forbes list, last fall he moved to USA and now lives with his wife in a one bedroom apartment in Silicon valley. And lawsuit no comment.
What played a fatal role in career of the entrepreneur — the passion of non-core businesses, the faith in fashion trends, or an oversupply of credits — it is difficult to determine. Marigold claims that the title of billionaire was never important to him. He is still full of ambition and trying to launch new high-tech projects, but in America.
