Usually there is no lack of potential buyers, but even they cannot guarantee that the sale process will end successfully. This is precisely the situation of Philip Morris International (PMI), which has announced that it is now allowing a scenario in which it never sells its Russian division.
The company’s chief executive, Jacek Olczak, told the Financial Times that the tobacco group, which sells Marlboro cigarettes outside the US, was in discussions with at least three “serious” potential buyers. However, “talks are at a standstill because no one knows how I can make it work [получването на съгласие от Кремъл]”.
According to Olczak, he cannot agree to every proposed offer because he still has to fulfill his obligation to maximize the income for the shareholders of his company. “I can’t just lose my temper and leave it. It’s their money, it’s not my money, I’m managing it for them,” he said. “If I had a buyer who could complete the transactions, yes, we would do it – but he does not exist … there is no hope … So then I prefer to keep all this,” opines the director.