The Moscow Exchange held a discrete auction for Eurotrans shares — the owner of the Trassa gas station network — after they fell 24.3%. For shareholders, this is a signal of high risk: the gas station network is almost completely halted, and four banks have filed claims against the company, including a bankruptcy petition.
The securities traded at 17.15 rubles as of 10:15 Moscow time, which is 18.14% below the previous close. The morning collapse continued a prolonged sell-off: over six months, the shares have fallen 79.67%, and over the year — 86.51%. The key task for investors now is to assess whether the company will retain a business capable of generating revenue and paying off creditors.
Why Eurotrans shares fell by a quarter
The discrete auction was held from 09:10 to 09:40 Moscow time on November 9. This regime replaces regular trading: orders accumulate, and trades are executed at a single price, which smooths out sharp price fluctuations. During the auction, the shares lost 24.3% and were worth 16.2 rubles. The decline slowed after the auction: at 09:42 Moscow time, the securities traded at 16.65 rubles (-20.53%).
The sell-off was triggered by news about the company's business. The press service of the Moscow Region Ministry of Energy reported that all 53 Trassa gas stations in the region have ceased operations. The network comprises 57 stations: 40 of them have already been sealed, and the remaining 17 will be closed by the end of next week. Motorists in the Moscow Region are losing an entire gas station network, and Eurotrans is losing its core business.
The company's problems have been accumulating since the summer. The Moscow Regional Directorate of the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) at the end of August found signs of monopolistically high prices for gasoline and diesel fuel at Eurotrans. Sberbank filed a court petition to declare the company bankrupt, with a hearing scheduled for November 12. Alfa-Bank, Tsifra Bank, and Solid Bank later also filed claims against Eurotrans in the Moscow Arbitration Court.
The November 12 hearing will be a key event for investors. If the court initiates bankruptcy proceedings, creditors will receive payments before shareholders. The shares have long been declining anyway: they have lost 93.18% from their historical high and 54.71% over three months. While the gas stations are closed and banks are litigating against the company, the risks for holders of the securities remain high.
Not only Eurotrans: surges in VK, Cian, and Seligdar shares
The Moscow Exchange also launches a discrete auction during sharp rises: this happened on November 5, when VK shares soared 27.3% to 258.35 rubles. Unlike Eurotrans, VK's jump followed strong financial results: revenue for nine months grew 15% to 128 billion rubles.
M.Video shares surged on the same day along with VK, and on November 6 the exchange held an auction for Cian securities amid T-Technologies' plans to buy up to 100% of the company. On the same day, Seligdar appealed to the Central Bank and the Moscow Exchange due to sharp price fluctuations. All these cases share one thing in common: a trading pause smooths out fluctuations but does not change the reasons behind them.
Cryptalist analysis: The Eurotrans case demonstrates the classic dynamics of a fading issuer: the halt of operating business, regulator claims, and competing creditor lawsuits form a scenario in which shareholders end up last in line for assets. The discrete auction only brought order to the price but did not eliminate fundamental risks. For institutional investors, the security remains a speculative instrument with a binary outcome around the November 12 hearing.