Alfa Group's A1 has failed for a second time to attract buyers for a logistics centre owned by the Irish Government amid the political turmoil in Russia, according to reports from Bloomberg.
A1 is the trading and investment company controlled by Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman.
"The first two rounds of the auction failed due to the lack of applications from potential buyers to take part," A1 said in an e-mailed response to questions from Bloomberg last night.
The news agency said that A1 is seeking at least 2.58 billion roubles (€37.5m) from the sale of Q-Park located in Kazan, Russia, 450 miles east of Moscow.
The first auction took place in December and the second earlier this month. A1 said it will seek to find new bidders in "late April".
The Government formed a joint venture in April 2013 with A1 to recoup property assets valued at about €470m in Russia and Ukraine accumulated by Sean Quinn.
They include a skyscraper in Moscow, a shopping centre in Kiev and warehouses.
Philip McDonagh, Ireland's former ambassador to Russia, has said the recovery of the assets is of "paramount importance to Ireland."
A1 will receive as much as 30% from the sale of the assets, it said in a statement in 2013.
The conflict in Ukraine, the volatile rouble and low oil prices have combined to put off or delay plans by foreign investors to enter the Russian real estate market, according to Tom Mundy, head of research at Jones Lang LaSalle in Russia.
"Limited and expensive financing has provided additional difficulties for local players," Mundy said.
A1, formerly known as Alfa-Eco, has helped manage billions of dollars of assets for Alfa Group in energy, metals, telecommunications and retail. It focuses on investment projects of two types - special situations and growth strategies,
according to its website.
