Midland Group
 | |
| Industry | International trading and investment |
|---|---|
| Founder | Alex Shnaider |
| Headquarters | |
Area served | Worldwide |
| Owner | Alex Shnaider |
The Midland Group is an international trading and investment holding company. Registered in Guernsey under the name Midland Resources Holding Ltd, the group owns a number of subsidiaries across the agriculture, manufacturing, real estate, shipping and steel industries. The group's co-founders are billionaires Alexander Shnaider (chairman), a Soviet-born Canadian national, and Ukrainian-born Eduard Shifrin of London, UK.
Primarily active in the Commonwealth of Independent States as well as Eastern Europe and the Far East, the Midland group of companies has a presence in 34 countries worldwide.
According to the Panama Papers, in 2010, Shnaider sold at least half of Midland's ownership in Zaporizhstal steel mill to buyers financed by Russian state-owned Vnesheconombank, who were then themselves acquired by the development bank.[1] Shnaider used proceeds from the sale to partially meet cost overruns at his Toronto Trump Tower. [1]
Electric Networks of Armenia
[edit]In 2002, Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA) was privatized by Midland Resources Holding.[2] 100% of ENA shares were sold to Midland Resources Holding company.[3]
Sports investments
[edit]Formula One
[edit]In October 2004, the Midland Group announced its intention to enter Formula One motor racing in 2006, with plans to use a car built by the Italian manufacturer Dallara In January 2005 the group changed plans by purchasing the Jordan Grand Prix team.[4] They kept the yellow-liveried EJ15 cars and declared 2005 to be a year of learning. Under the name Midland F1 Racing, the team made its debut with a brand-new car and livery at the start of the 2006 Formula One season. With this team, Shnaider declared his intention to bring the first Russian driver into the sport,[5] a feat not achieved until Vitaly Petrov's entrance into F1 with Renault,[6] three years after Schnaider sold the team. On 9 September 2006, the team was sold to Spyker Cars for $106.6 million.[7][8]
In 2007, the team competed as Spyker F1, and in 2008 was sold to Indian businessman Vijay Mallya and was renamed Force India F1.[9]
From the beginning of the 2008 season, the team became known as Force India and remained active until 2018, when a group of consortium led by Lawrence Stroll bought the team in 2018 following a financial collapse that forced Force India to be put under administration. From 2018 to 2020 the team competed under the Racing Point banner.[10][11] In 2021 the team was rebranded as Aston Martin.[12]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Protess, Ben; Kramer, Andrew E.; McIntire, Mike (5 June 2017). "Bank at Center of U.S. Inquiry Projects Russian 'Soft Power'". The New York Times. p. A1. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
- ^ "Midland Resources Company to privatize Armenian electric power stations". Armenpress.am. Retrieved 2020-10-13.
- ^ "Electric Networks of Armenia Annual Report 2019" (PDF). Electric Networks of Armenia. 2002-08-26. Retrieved 2020-10-13.
- ^ Lostia, Michele (14 June 2005). "Dallara Won't Build Midland's Car". Autosport. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
- ^ "Russian-Born Canadian Buys F1 Team". The Moscow Times. 25 January 2005. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
- ^ "Vitaly Petrov joins Renault to become first Russian Formula One driver". The Guardian. 31 January 2010. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
- ^ "Midland F1 team sold to Spyker". The Times of Malta. 11 September 2006. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
- ^ "Midland sells MF1 Racing to Spyker". Archived from the original on 26 April 2007. Retrieved 2007-06-04.
- ^ "FIA approve Spyker's Force India name change". The Official Formula 1 Website. 24 October 2007. Retrieved 8 March 2009.
- ^ "Spyker change name to Force India". BBC Sport. 24 October 2007. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
- ^ Cooper, Adam (24 August 2018). "How the FIA used little-known Formula 1 rules to save Force India". Autosport. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 2018-08-29.
- ^ "Aston Martin – F1 Racing Team – Vettel, Stroll".
External links
[edit]- Official website
- Profile of Alex Shnaider
- Midlandia Photo of Midlandia megayacht at the Monaco GP
