Rostec, a state-owned conglomerate covering a wide range of technologies, including military ones, and Sistema, a privately-owned conglomerate, have agreed to create a joint venture in the field of microelectronics.
The new entity will include no fewer than 19 enterprises operating in this field, from research and development to production.
Still subject to regulatory approval and other requirements, the transaction is expected to be completed before the end of Q1 2019. Sistema subsidiary RTI-Microelectronics will receive 50% plus one share of the joint venture while Rostec and its subsidiary Ruselectronics will own 50% minus one share.
According Russian business daily RBC, which cites “an unnamed source close to Sistema,” the corporation is committed to buy a controlling stake from Rostec for 1.35 billion rubles (around $20 million at the current exchange rate) within 18 months after the completion of the initial transaction.
Industry observer Yuri Ammosov sees “neither any clear goal nor any brilliant prospects” in what he calls “a combination of uncompetitive microelectronics factories dating from Soviet times.”
