Igor Linshits
Encyclopedia
Igor Leonidovich Linshits is an international entrepreneur and the Chairman and CEO of Delin Capital, an investment company located in London
, United Kingdom
.
in the former USSR. Both his parents were engineers.
After attending school in Rustavi, Linshits studied chemical engineering at the Lomonosov Institute of Fine Chemical Technology
in Moscow
. He graduated in 1988.
Linshits became an Israeli citizen
in 2008.
Linshits took his first job as a worker in one such cooperative, which produced plastic products. He was promoted several times and, in less than 18 months, left to set up his first business, the Contacts Cooperative which manufactured hairbrushes and combs for distribution to the Russian market from a factory in Moscow.
In 1990, Linshits wound up Contacts Co-operative and became a partner in SAP (Soviet American Enterprise), one of Russia’s largest oil products trading and processing businesses. A year later he became the company’s first Deputy Director General. At this time, SAP was also responsible for restructuring and modernising a number of oil refineries.
After three years, the SAP partnership was disbanded, with each of the partners taking a part of the business. Linshits used his part to set up his own venture, a group of companies that primarily refined and traded oil products and traded under the Neftyanoi banner.
In the late 1990s, Linshits expanded Neftyanoi’s activities in non-oil commodities, winning a government contract to supply Russian wheat to Uzbekistan in exchange for cotton. By 1997, Neftyanoi controlled 50% of the Russian cotton market and also had large trading positions in other agricultural commodities.
In 2000, Neftyanoi group purchased Extra-M, a Russian pasta brand with a large factory in Moscow. Linshits introduced a new corporate strategy that included upgrading the production facilities and investing heavily in new branding, advertising and distribution. As a result, Extra-M became one of the most popular pasta brands in Russia. Neftyanoi sold Extra-M to Agros (part of the Interros Group) in 2003.
Also in 2000, Linshits’ Neftyanoi bought a 10% stake in mail.ru, a then largely unknown Russian internet portal. Over the next few years, Neftyanoi increased its stake in the company to more than 30%, making it the second largest shareholder. In 2006, Neftyanoi sold its stake in mail.ru – by then one of Russia’s most successful internet portals - to Tiger Fund
and Digital Sky Technologies for more than USD100 million.
Linshits moved into real estate in 2001, setting up a new company Delin Development. Specialising in office property, Delin Development quickly became one of the leading developers in Moscow. Its largest project was Silver City, a 60,000 sq m, class-A office building in the city centre. Silver City and Delin’s other office developments were sold in 2008, at the peak of the Russian real estate market, primarily to international investors. Press reports at the time suggest that Silver City was sold for USD350 million.
In 2004, Linshits purchased a 90% stake in Mosinzhstroi, one of Russia’s largest construction companies and a leading infrastructure provider to the City of Moscow. In 2008 Mosinzhstroi had a USD1 billion turnover.
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
Background
Igor Linshits was born on 18 December 1963 in Georgian city of RustaviRustavi
Rustavi is a city in the southeast of Georgia, in the province of Kvemo Kartli, situated southeast of the capital Tbilisi. It stands on the Mtkvari River at...
in the former USSR. Both his parents were engineers.
After attending school in Rustavi, Linshits studied chemical engineering at the Lomonosov Institute of Fine Chemical Technology
Moscow State Academy of Fine Chemical Technology
Moscow State University of Fine Chemical Technologies named after M. V. Lomonosov , commonly abbreviated as МИТХТ , is one of the oldest chemical educational institutions in Russia. It was founded in 1900...
in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
. He graduated in 1988.
Linshits became an Israeli citizen
Israeli nationality law
Israel's nationality law defines the terms through which one can be granted citizenship of the state of Israel. It also includes the Right of return for Jewish diaspora...
in 2008.
Early business ventures
The cooperative movement in the former Soviet Union was expanding rapidly at the end of the 1980s, with the government encouraging the creation of thousands of private cooperatives.Linshits took his first job as a worker in one such cooperative, which produced plastic products. He was promoted several times and, in less than 18 months, left to set up his first business, the Contacts Cooperative which manufactured hairbrushes and combs for distribution to the Russian market from a factory in Moscow.
In 1990, Linshits wound up Contacts Co-operative and became a partner in SAP (Soviet American Enterprise), one of Russia’s largest oil products trading and processing businesses. A year later he became the company’s first Deputy Director General. At this time, SAP was also responsible for restructuring and modernising a number of oil refineries.
After three years, the SAP partnership was disbanded, with each of the partners taking a part of the business. Linshits used his part to set up his own venture, a group of companies that primarily refined and traded oil products and traded under the Neftyanoi banner.
In the late 1990s, Linshits expanded Neftyanoi’s activities in non-oil commodities, winning a government contract to supply Russian wheat to Uzbekistan in exchange for cotton. By 1997, Neftyanoi controlled 50% of the Russian cotton market and also had large trading positions in other agricultural commodities.
From trade to investment
In 1998, Linshits added Stavropol Polymer, a loss-making petrochemical factory in Budyonnovsk, to his Neftyanoi group. In a joint venture with Lukoil, then Russia’s largest private oil company, Linshits transformed Stavropol Polymer into the highly successful Lukoil-Neftekhim (which is known as Lukoil Chemical in English). Two years later, Neftyanoi sold its stake in Lukoil Chemical to Lukoil. Lukoil Chemical is now one of Russia’s largest and most up-to-date petrochemical producers.In 2000, Neftyanoi group purchased Extra-M, a Russian pasta brand with a large factory in Moscow. Linshits introduced a new corporate strategy that included upgrading the production facilities and investing heavily in new branding, advertising and distribution. As a result, Extra-M became one of the most popular pasta brands in Russia. Neftyanoi sold Extra-M to Agros (part of the Interros Group) in 2003.
Also in 2000, Linshits’ Neftyanoi bought a 10% stake in mail.ru, a then largely unknown Russian internet portal. Over the next few years, Neftyanoi increased its stake in the company to more than 30%, making it the second largest shareholder. In 2006, Neftyanoi sold its stake in mail.ru – by then one of Russia’s most successful internet portals - to Tiger Fund
Tiger Management
Tiger Management Corp., also known as "The Tiger Fund," was a hedge fund founded by Julian Robertson. The fund began investing in 1980 and was closed in March 2000.-History:...
and Digital Sky Technologies for more than USD100 million.
Linshits moved into real estate in 2001, setting up a new company Delin Development. Specialising in office property, Delin Development quickly became one of the leading developers in Moscow. Its largest project was Silver City, a 60,000 sq m, class-A office building in the city centre. Silver City and Delin’s other office developments were sold in 2008, at the peak of the Russian real estate market, primarily to international investors. Press reports at the time suggest that Silver City was sold for USD350 million.
In 2004, Linshits purchased a 90% stake in Mosinzhstroi, one of Russia’s largest construction companies and a leading infrastructure provider to the City of Moscow. In 2008 Mosinzhstroi had a USD1 billion turnover.