Samolet Group: Kazakh fund buys 18% stake for RUB 4.2B
What's the deal? Kazakhstan's Fonte Inceptia Alpha Fund OEICDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → bought 18% of Russian homebuilder Samolet from the Gorizont fundDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, controlled by the heirs of late co-founder Mikhail Kenin. Samolet did not disclose the price, but based on the company's 23.4 billion rouble market value on 10 August 2026, the stake was worth around 4.2 billion roubles.
Who's involved? Fonte Inceptia Alpha Fund is registered in the Astana International Financial Centre and managed by Fonte Capital LTDDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, which runs 24 collective-investment funds. The purchase expands the fund's exposure to real estate, said Fonte Capital chief executive Yerzhan Musin.
Why now? Gorizont, whose beneficiaries are Kenin's widow and two children, has been steadily exiting. It held 29.12% in February 2026, sold about 3% in May, and cut its stake to 19.68% in June. The 18% sale leaves it with roughly 1.68%.
By the numbers: Samolet is Russia's largest developer by current construction, at 4.27 million m². Revenue rose 8% in 2025 to 366.8 billion roubles, but the group posted a net loss of 2.3 billion roubles, against an 8.2 billion rouble profit a year earlier.
What could go wrong? Samolet recently struggled to service its debt and asked the government for a 50 billion rouble discounted loan. The heirs likely want to diversify or exit the business, said Oleg Abelev of Ricom-TrustDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, who does not rule out that financial trouble drove the sale.
A Finance Ministry subcommittee found no critical problems at the group, recommending it continue working with banks to maintain financial stability. Chief executive Anna Akinshina said the new shareholder's international experience would help the business reach its goals.
The signal: New-build sales are rising nationally — developers sold 10.8 million m² in the first half of 2026, up 6% year on year — but fell 27% in Moscow, where Samolet builds more than 1 million m². The exit of a founding family, paired with a debt-relief request, points to strain even among Russia's biggest builders as high interest rates bite.
Read more: Kommersant
Image credit: infomatique
