Caterpillar's Russian assets transferred to firm owned by Armenian fund

FILE PHOTO: CAT machines are seen on a lot at Milton CAT in North Reading, Massachusetts January 23, 2013. REUTERS/Jessica Rinaldi/File Photo

(Reuters) - U.S. machinery maker Caterpillar's former Russian assets have been transferred to a company owned by Armenian investment fund Balchug Capital, Russian company filings showed.

Caterpillar Inc suspended operations in its manufacturing facilities in Russia in 2022, joining a number of foreign companies that halted business in the country after Moscow's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin approved the purchase of Caterpillar's assets by a company called PSK-New Solutions in November 2023. Putin's decree and Russian company filings did not disclose terms of the deal.

Balchug Capital and Caterpillar, which makes machinery for the construction, mining and oil and gas industries, did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Putin's decree specified that PSK-New Solutions could buy 100% of the charter capital in Caterpillar Tosno and Caterpillar Financial as a response to Western sanctions.

According to company filings, the asset transfer was completed on June 14.

PSK-New Solutions was registered in August 2022, according to Interfax news agency's Spark database. It is 99% owned by Armenian investment firm Balchug Capital, whose CEO and founder David Amaryan oversees all investment activity.

(Reporting by Alexander Marrow; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)