Russian chemical giant TogliattiAzot (ToAZ) is one of the world’s largest fertilizer and ammonia producers. The company is among the top three producers of ammonia in Russia and the top ten worldwide.

Togliattiazot’s main activity is in the production of mineral fertilizers and chemical products. Today, the plant includes seven ammonia production units and two for urea, on a site covering over 200 hectares.

Since its founding, Togliattiazot has played a key role in growing the Russian chemical industry and contributing to the general welfare in the city of Togliatti as well as Samara Region as a whole. ToAZ is one of the region’s largest taxpayers, and provides jobs to over 5,000 residents.

For more than a decade, ToAZ and its current and former management, Board of Directors, shareholders, employees and their families have been the target of corporate raiding, Russia style. This hostile takeover has included an unrelenting campaign of intimidation, false accusations and baseless investigations instigated by business rivals with the aid of corrupt Russian officials.

The goal? Stealing the company for a fraction of its true value. The raid against ToAZ is one of the most prominent examples of corporate raiding, or Reiderstvo, which has become an endemic issue in Russia. Despite a tough battle against long odds, the majority shareholders refuse to surrender. In 2016, they initiated legal action in Ireland to fight back.

ToAZ has been a victim of corporate raiding for nearly 20 years.