By Edgaras Savickas, LRT.lt.
The Spanish company that recently took over Valientė, the operator of the Mere discount retail chain in Lithuania, is owned by three Russian citizens who were previously linked to the business, LRT.lt has discovered.
According to documents from Spain’s corporate registry, 79% of Barcelona-based Vigalight, founded last year, is held by Sergei Shnaider, 15% by Andrej Veikulainen and 6% by Valerij Jakovlev.
The planned shareholder shift at Mere was first reported in mid-October by Delfi, which also noted that Ilja Eginas was appointed Vigalight’s administrator in January. Other company managers included Igor Jagupov and Julija Astanina.
Documents reviewed by LRT.lt show that Jagupov appeared in person before a notary in Spain and was authorised to act on behalf of Shnaider, Veikulainen, and Jakovlev.
Until September 19, Valientė was owned by five Russian citizens: Ana Shnaider held 66%, Rustam Kilizhekov 15%, Veikulainen 2%, and Shnaider and Jakovlev held 12% and 5% respectively. Sergei Shnaider, Vigalight’s current majority shareholder, also appeared in Valientė’s ownership structure from 2019 to 2023. Shnaider and his brother Andrej are known in Russia for running the 2,000-store Svetofor discount chain.
Read more: LRT.LT
