ACMERO Capital: Monopoly’s investment, ownership and financial distress

analysisMarch 2016 reporting described Acmero acquiring a 38% stake in the freight company Monopoly in December 2015 and committing to invest RUB1 billion in new trucks during 2016. The report described a fleet of about 430 vehicles at the time. The acquisition date, report date and promised spending period differ. A later account calls the closing a 2016 transaction; neither wording establishes a current 38% stake or that the entire investment commitment was spent. ^{1 2}

analysisThe same June 2024 group accounts say Monopoly had no immediate parent and no ultimate controlling party at either 30 June 2024 or 31 December 2023. That express statement limits any attempt to turn a historical Acmero investment or a press description of a founder into a current single-controller finding. The accounts’ control statement is not a complete list of every beneficial shareholder or a finding that no investor could exercise influence. ³

analysisAn April 2025 account described Monopoly’s shareholders as Ilya Dmitriev and Ekaterina Mikhailova with 24.99% each and Stalker with 34.54%, with other and treasury interests making up the balance. It reported that VNV Global had exited and that negotiations with Vostok Investments were continuing. These reported percentages differ from an earlier April article’s direct-and-indirect interests and should not be combined into one cap table. Negotiations for a new investment are not a completed purchase. ⁴

analysisMonopoly’s unaudited condensed consolidated interim accounts for June 2024 reported assets of RUB30.834858 billion and equity of RUB4.751382 billion. The six-month loss attributable to the company’s owners was RUB1.117471 billion, and treasury-share repurchases were RUB1.477178 billion. The source tables are in thousands of Russian rubles; these amounts have been converted to billions. They are group interim figures, not Acmero accounts, and the owners’ loss is not the same as the total loss including non-controlling interests. ³

analysisThe June 2024 consolidated schedule records full group interests in Monopoly LLC, Monopoly.Online, Fortis, Monopoly Financial Services and Monopoly Investment; it records 75.07% group interests in Globaltruck Management, Lorry, Magna, Globaltruck Logistic, Uraltransinvest and GT IT. Longran Logistic and Gruzoprovod, held at 75.07% at the end of 2023, merged into Lorry in April 2024. It also records a 72% interest in Smart Logistics following a February acquisition. This is a consolidated group schedule. It does not establish that the listed parent directly held every interest without intermediate companies, or that the percentages continued after later transactions. ³

analysisA June 2026 report on Monopoly’s 2025 accounts described a RUB18.36 billion annual loss and liabilities exceeding assets by RUB15.71 billion, with the accounts no longer prepared on a going-concern basis. The report described bankruptcy petitions involving several distinct group companies. A reported negative-equity position, a company’s intent to file and a petition are different from an entered bankruptcy judgment. The report expressly said none of the companies had yet been declared bankrupt as of 1 June 2026. The company attributed the crisis to excess freight capacity, lower rates, higher costs and the withdrawal of factoring facilities. That explanation accompanies the financial figures. The same report records termination of a separate Lorry proceeding on 26 May 2026. It does not establish a final later outcome for each other group company. ⁵

analysisFebruary 2026 reporting said seven Monopoly-group companies disclosed signs of insolvency. The later petitions and deadlines were entity-specific. The retained record is therefore a history of warnings and applications, rather than a single group-wide bankruptcy order. Legal-services commentary about future procedure is not used as proof that a court subsequently made an order. A passed forecast date is not evidence that its forecast occurred. ^{6 5}