Rosatom Takes Full Control of Delo to Build Russia's Largest Logistics Group

Russia's state nuclear corporation Rosatom has completed its purchase of the remaining 51% of Delo Group, taking full control of one of the country's largest port, rail and shipping networks. The transaction moves a business central to both container traffic and grain exports under a single state-controlled logistics structure.

Delo founder Sergei Shishkaryov confirmed on October 7 that the sale of his controlling stake had closed. Rosatom already owned 49% of Delo, so the acquisition raises its holding to 100%. Neither side disclosed the final purchase price in its completion statement.

A nationwide logistics system moves under one owner

Rosatom said it will place Delo, FESCO and its other transport businesses under a common management center. The planned structure spans maritime shipping, ports, rail freight, road transport and forwarding, creating a single operator able to move cargo through several stages of the same journey.

According to Delo's current corporate profile, the group operates seven seaport terminals and 46 inland terminals. Its marine terminals can handle 3.5 million twenty-foot equivalent units, or TEU, of containers and 10.5 million tonnes of grain annually. The inland network has 3.6 million TEU of annual capacity.

Delo also reports a fleet of 40,000 container rail platforms, containers with combined capacity of 220,000 TEU and its own vessels. Those figures explain why the deal matters beyond a simple ownership change: control extends from export terminals and ships to inland depots and rail equipment.

Rosatom claims half of Russia's container-terminal market

Rosatom chief executive Alexey Likhachev said the corporation's combined logistics assets account for 50% of Russian container-terminal handling and 44% of the country's rail container transport. Those are company-reported market shares, but they show the scale of concentration Rosatom expects from combining Delo with FESCO and its existing assets.

The port footprint reaches Vladivostok, Kaliningrad, Novorossiysk, St Petersburg and Nakhodka. For agricultural trade, Novorossiysk is especially important because Delo is the country's deepwater grain-handling leader. Ownership of that capacity puts Rosatom directly into infrastructure used to move Russian wheat and other grain into export markets.

The stated goal is lower duplication and bigger international reach

Rosatom says unified management should reduce duplicated investment across businesses that previously operated as separate groups. Likhachev projected savings of as much as 100 billion rubles over the next decade. That is a forward-looking company estimate rather than a guaranteed result.

The company also wants to expand international maritime logistics, develop the Northern Sea Route and build a broader Trans-Arctic transport corridor. Rosatom said the enlarged logistics division now ranks among the 15 largest transport operators in the BRICS countries and wants to reach the top five.

That ambition still depends on execution. Integrating port operators, ships, rail assets, inland terminals and sales systems is operationally complex. Cost savings require common procurement and investment decisions without disrupting service or allowing a highly centralized structure to slow commercial responses.

What changes for grain and container customers

The immediate ownership change does not automatically alter freight prices, terminal slots or customer contracts. Rosatom did not announce new tariffs, service schedules or investment projects alongside the closing. Existing customers therefore have no confirmed operating change to act on yet.

Over time, however, a unified network could offer shippers more end-to-end routes under one commercial umbrella. A grain or container customer could potentially connect inland rail, terminal handling and maritime transport through a single group. The same consolidation also gives one state company much greater influence over infrastructure capacity and investment priorities.

For agricultural exporters, the central question is whether common ownership improves reliability and throughput at peak periods. Delo's 10.5 million tonnes of annual grain-terminal capacity is strategically significant, but capacity on paper only creates value when rail arrivals, storage, vessel loading and port access work together.

A deal born from a divided partnership

Rosatom entered Delo's capital in 2019 and increased its stake to 49% in 2022, leaving Shishkaryov with 51%. The two sides later disagreed over the group's future and used a reciprocal buyout mechanism that allowed one partner to acquire the other. The October closing ends that divided ownership structure.

Shishkaryov said the group remains a leader with a unique asset base despite what he called a difficult period. Rosatom said preserving jobs and operational expertise is a priority. Those assurances will be tested as the corporation builds the common management structure and decides how much autonomy individual businesses retain.

What to watch next

The next material developments will be the design of the combined management center, any changes to capital spending and the first coordinated services linking Delo and FESCO assets. Customers will also watch service reliability, pricing and whether the promised investment savings translate into more capacity rather than lower competition.

For the broader physical economy, the takeover creates a logistics group whose decisions reach container imports, industrial cargo and agricultural exports. That makes the integration timetable and investment plan more important than the ownership announcement alone.

Primary sources

Delo Group founder statement, October 7, 2026: https://www.delo-group.ru/news/19207/

Rosatom chief executive statement, October 7, 2026: https://atommedia.online/press-releases/zayavlenie-generalnogo-direktora-goskorporatsii-rosatom-o-priobretenii-stoprotsentnoy-doli-v-gk-delo/

Delo Group corporate asset profile: https://www.delo-group.ru/