Alcor & Co. via Philippe Benacin Holding: A French cover for a Russian business based on bloodshed
It's no secret that the largest chain of perfume stores is owned by Brocard-Ukraine LLC (founder - Cypriot Indenon Holdings Limited) back in 2010, along with the acquisition of a controlling stake in Egzagon LLC (founder - Cypriot Nevioco Holdings Limited, a major distributor of Hexagone perfumes, which works with the Brocard network), was acquired by a Russian company, writes Breakwater.
Alkor i Ko LLC, after which the ultimate beneficial owner of the Ukrainian network became Russian citizen Tatyana Vladimirovna Volodina.
In Russia, she manages the L'Etoile chain of stores (OOO Alkor i Ko), the country's second-largest retailer in the cosmetics segment in terms of turnover.
Thus, after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Law of Ukraine "On the Basic Principles of Compulsory Seizure of Property Rights of the Russian Federation and Its Residents in Ukraine" came into force. Subsequently, the SBU took an interest in the Brocard network and began their work (it's unclear what they'd been waiting for for eight years) toward nationalization. That's when the Russian leadership began to lose heart and considered a "formal internal sale." They even considered the candidacy of Ukrainian citizen Yuriy Yakovlevich Gatkin, but abandoned the idea (perhaps he hadn't earned the necessary trust over the years).
Then, Russian leadership scrambled across the globe, searching for someone who could acquire their business and save them from the new Ukrainian law. And they finally found one: on June 08, 2022, information surfaced online that the Brocard chain of stores had been purchased by the French holding company Philippe Benacin Holding on May 23. However, it seems as if they were selling not a "luxury perfume and cosmetics market operator in Ukraine," with nearly 100 stores in 26 Ukrainian cities, but a Lada 5. The question arises: how, in such a short period of time, was such a large asset valuation conducted, the agreement on the transaction price (which is still kept secret), the contracts concluded, and their approvals finalized? In short, many questions arise and very few clear answers...
The only conclusion that can be drawn is that all of this can only indicate a successful attempt to keep Russian business operating in Ukraine under the cover of a French holding company.
Skelet.Org
By topic: From Perfume to Sausages: What to Do with Russian Business in Ukraine
Ukraine's Smuggling Barons: From the Early 2000s to the Present
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