Russian businessman Vladimir Nekrasov has bought back 40% of his cosmetic retail chain Arbat Prestige from investment company Troika Dialog for $400 mln. Nekrasov said he is planning to open 300 new stores of the chain in 2007 in Russia, which will add to the existing 64 ones at present. A further 60 stores will be opened in seven Ukrainian cities including Kiev, Donetsk, Kharkov, Dnepropetrovsk, he added, for a combined investment of $100 mln. The stores will be of a smaller size compared with the existing ones, ranging from 150 m[sup]2[/sup] to 700 m[sup]2[/sup].

Russian businessman Vladimir Nekrasov has bought back 40% of his cosmetic retail chain Arbat Prestige from investment company Troika Dialog for $400 mln. Nekrasov said he is planning to open 300 new stores of the chain in 2007 in Russia, which will add to the existing 64 ones at present. A further 60 stores will be opened in seven Ukrainian cities including Kiev, Donetsk, Kharkov, Dnepropetrovsk, he added, for a combined investment of $100 mln. The stores will be of a smaller size compared with the existing ones, ranging from 150 m2 to 700 m2.

Troika Dialog initially purchased the stake in 2004 from Nekrasov, Arbat Prestige's sole shareholder, for $100 mln. Arbat Prestige's turnover rose from $130 mln in 2004 to $346 mln in 2006. Nekrasov said he expects the turnover to double in 2007 to $700 mln. At the beginning of 2008, the company will mount an initial public offering, in which Troika Dialog will reportedly participate. 'We haven't fixed a share price yet. It's also not clear yet whether we are going to offer part of the existing stock or issue additional shares,’ Nekrasov stated.

Arbat Prestige was established by Vladimir Nekrasov in 1989. The chain currently has 64 stores in Moscow and its surroundings, St Petersburg, Kazan and Voronezh.