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- A tidbit: a bidder has appeared for the assets of the French Sucden in the Russian Federation
A tidbit: a bidder has appeared for the assets of the French Sucden in the Russian Federation
Gazprombank intends to buy the Russian assets of Sucden, the largest French sugar producer, Izvestia has learned. We are talking about four plants with a total production volume of more than 800 thousand tons of white sugar per year, as well as more than 250 thousand hectares of agricultural land, which experts estimate at 50-65 billion rubles. Negotiations on the sale of assets are taking place against the background of statements by several French media outlets, which in early February accused Sucden, one of the leading EU companies in the food trade, of financing the Russian army. Why the financial group needed this business is in the Izvestia article.
Why did bankers go into sugar
Gazprombank offered the French Sucden to join the capital of its Russian subsidiary, two sources close to the foreign company and two interlocutors familiar with the bank's plans told Izvestia. He wanted to acquire both a stake in a Russian company and buy out the entire business of the organization in the Russian Federation, one of them said. A representative of the credit institution declined to comment.
However, the French group has not yet planned to leave the Russian market, two sources close to it noted. At a working meeting of Maxim Oreshkin, deputy head of the presidential administration, with 15 French organizations, which took place on February 5, a Sucden representative confirmed his intentions to keep the business in the Russian Federation, one of the participants in this meeting told Izvestia. The company did not respond to Izvestia's questions. The editorial board sent a request to the Office of the Press Service and Information of the President of the Russian Federation.
Sucden is one of the largest European companies in the food trade, founded in France in 1952. By the end of 2024, the group's revenue amounted to $12.6 billion (+27% YoY), according to data from its website. In Russia, it owns the Dobrinsky and Yeletsky sugar plants in the Lipetsk region, the Atmis plant in the Penza region and the Tbilisi plant in the Krasnodar Territory with a total production volume of more than 800 thousand tons of white sugar, 240 thousand tons of molasses and 240 thousand tons of dried beet pulp per year.
The French company calls itself one of the four largest sugar producers in Russia. She also manages 260 thousand hectares of agricultural land in Russia, where she grows beets, wheat, barley, sunflowers, peas and corn. According to the Befl consulting firm, in terms of the volume of the land fund in 2025, it took the 20th place in the ranking of the largest landowners. By the end of 2024 (the latest available data), the combined revenue of the two Russian legal entities (DSZ and VTS) of the group amounted to 61.6 billion rubles, which is 20% more than a year earlier, according to their RAS reports. The net profit of DSZ amounted to 2.2 billion rubles (an increase of 57%), VTS — 1.9 billion rubles (a decrease of 1.7 times), follows from the data of the companies.
What is interesting about the sugar business?
A possible sale of the business in the country is being discussed against the background of statements about the sponsorship of the Russian army by a foreign company, said a source close to the group. In early February, two French media outlets — ARTE TV channel and Mediapart — accused Sucden of having its subsidiaries in the country "providing direct support to the Russian army in 2023-2025." Responding to reporters' inquiries, the company said it had initiated an internal audit. These are "private initiatives on the ground, carried out without the knowledge and approval of the Paris headquarters," they claimed. Since 2022, Sucden has strictly adhered to the sanctions obligations of the European Union, its representative said. EU sanctions do not directly apply to the agri-food sector if European organizations do not cooperate with individuals or legal entities subject to restrictive measures.
The value of the group's Russian business, including debt (EV), is about 55-65 billion rubles, estimated by Ivan Peshkov, head of BGP Capital's M&A department. Ilya Bereznyuk, Managing partner of Agro and Food Communications, pointed out that the largest share in the asset price is represented by the company's land bank. According to his calculations, 250-270 thousand hectares of farmland with an average market price of 150-400 thousand rubles per 1 hectare are worth approximately 40-60 billion rubles.
Such a deal, if it takes place, will require the approval of the government commission of the Russian Federation, Ivan Peshkov noted. At the same time, it should be borne in mind that the discount on the sale of a foreign business can be at least 60% of the market value, Ilya Bereznyuk added. In these conditions, there is practically no economic sense in selling assets, Ivan Peshkov believes.
Gazprombank's interest in the sugar business may be due to its "good expertise" and experience in developing investment strategies in agriculture, Ilya Bereznyuk said. According to him, the credit institution can consider it as an investment asset with subsequent resale to large players in the agricultural market. And also as a "strategic entry" into the food sector, but only if the business is bought out entirely, the expert said.
According to preliminary data from Rosstat, in 2025 sugar production in the Russian Federation amounted to more than 6.3 million tons. This business is quite stable in the country, Ilya Bereznyuk believes. The level of self-sufficiency reached 104.9% last year, with the threshold value of the Food Security Doctrine at 90%, a representative of the Ministry of Agriculture told Izvestia. These volumes are sufficient not only to fully meet the country's domestic sugar needs, but also to realize its export potential, the ministry noted.
By the end of 2025, sugar supplies abroad increased by 13.6% in physical terms, according to the ministry. Its exports have become the second largest in the modern history of the country, said a representative of the Ministry of Agriculture. At the same time, the export potential is limited by neighboring countries, said Andrei Dalnov, Chief industry analyst at Rosselkhoznadzor. According to him, the sugar market remains very competitive and regulated.
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