The Spanish company that recently took over Valientė, the operator of the Mere discount retail chain in Lithuania, is owned by three Russian citizens who were previously linked to the business, LRT.lt has discovered.
According to documents from Spain’s corporate registry, 79% of Barcelona-based Vigalight, founded last year, is held by Sergei Shnaider, 15% by Andrej Veikulainen and 6% by Valerij Jakovlev.
The planned shareholder shift at Mere was first reported in mid-October by Delfi, which also noted that Ilja Eginas was appointed Vigalight’s administrator in January. Other company managers included Igor Jagupov and Julija Astanina.
Documents reviewed by LRT.lt show that Jagupov appeared in person before a notary in Spain and was authorised to act on behalf of Shnaider, Veikulainen, and Jakovlev.
Until September 19, Valientė was owned by five Russian citizens: Ana Shnaider held 66%, Rustam Kilizhekov 15%, Veikulainen 2%, and Shnaider and Jakovlev held 12% and 5% respectively. Sergei Shnaider, Vigalight’s current majority shareholder, also appeared in Valientė’s ownership structure from 2019 to 2023. Shnaider and his brother Andrej are known in Russia for running the 2,000-store Svetofor discount chain.
Lithuania’s Economy Ministry has said it is considering following Poland’s lead and sanctioning businesses owned by Russian nationals. “It’s strange to me that companies like Mere are still operating in Lithuania,” Minister Edvinas Grikšas told LRT.lt, adding that firms owned by Russians – or that, in his words, directly or indirectly support Russia in its war on Ukraine – should not be allowed to operate.
Poland added Mere’s owners to its sanctions list in May, and Latvia has signalled it may take similar steps.
Valientė, founded in Vilnius in 2019, operated 21 Mere stores in Lithuania at the end of 2024 and five in Latvia. The company had 319 employees across both countries and reported 2023 revenue growth of 31% to €65.2 million, with net profit rising 70% to €1.2 million.
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