Russia’s Rosspirtprom Buys Seized Distillery at Half Original Asking Price

Russia’s largest ethanol producer Rosspirtprom has acquired a 72.87% stake in the nationalized Amber Talvis distillery for 1.94 billion rubles ($23.5 million), the Vedomosti business daily reported Tuesday, citing auction records.

The company paid the minimum auction price, half the 3.89 billion rubles ($47.1 million) initially sought by Russia’s Federal Property Management Agency. Rosspirtprom was the auction’s only bidder.

The acquisition will increase Rosspirtprom’s ownership of the Tambov region distillery from 25.5% to around 98.4%, further consolidating Russia’s ethanol industry under a company that The Insider investigative outlet has linked to billionaire Arkady Rotenberg, a longtime friend of President Vladimir Putin.

Rosspirtprom owns eight distilleries with a combined annual production capacity of 22.5 million decaliters, as well as two service companies.

Amber Talvis was previously owned by businessman Yuri Shefler. In July 2024, a Russian court ordered his assets transferred to the state at the request of prosecutors, who accused him of financing the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Shefler and companies under his control were designated an “extremist organization.”

Amber Talvis produces Lux and Alpha grades of rectified ethyl alcohol and has a daily production capacity of around 10,000 decaliters.

The distillery’s revenue rose 22.8% in 2025 to 2.5 billion rubles ($30.3 million), while net profit nearly quintupled to 869.5 million rubles ($10.5 million).

The company owns production facilities, alcohol storage sites and approximately 37.3 hectares of land. It employed 189 people as of April 24, 2026.