Reduced Govt. Ownership Not to Affect Russian Helicopters Rating - Moody’s

On March 10, the head of a Russian government-owned industrial group Rostec, Sergei Chemezov, confirmed that a 20-25 percent of the stake in RH can be sold to a development company wholly owned by the government of Abu Dhabi.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The credit rating of a Russian helicopter design and manufacturing company Russian Helicopters (RH) will remain stable following potential sale of a stake at the state-owned enterprise, Moody’s Investors Service said in a press release on Friday.

"A limited reduction in government ownership in civilian and military helicopter designer and manufacturer Russian Helicopters JSC (RH) will not affect RH's rating (Ba3 stable)," the press release stated.

Moody’s argued that if the deal is signed, the new shareholder could help RH strengthen its presence in the Middle East and Asian markets.

"The sale of the blocking stake in RH, in our view, would be credit neutral for RH because the Russian government <…> will maintain a controlling stake in RH and, given RH's strategic importance to Russia, will not distance itself from RH and/or allow its control over the company to weaken," Moody’s said.

Russian Helicopters is the sole designer and manufacturer of civilian and military helicopters in Russia. The company produces the Kamov and Mi helicopters, considered to be some of the most effective in the world.

At present, RH is fully owned by an industrial holding company Oboronprom (unrated), within the Rostec group.