One of the oldest auction houses in the world, Sotheby’s, could close. The Wall Street Journal reports a sharp decline in profits and business problems.
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Together with Christie’s, Sotheby’s controls about 90% of the global antiques and art market. According to the publication, difficulties arose in the operation of the auction house under the new owner, French billionaire Patrick Drai. He acquired Sotheby’s five years ago, incorporating it into the family holding company. It is managed by the American BidFair US.
Sotheby’s financial results, published in September, showed a sharp drop in profits: they fell 88% in the first half of the year. Sales at auctions also decreased by 25%, writes WSJ.
On September 26, it became known that Sotheby’s decided to liquidate the Russian legal entity Sotheby’s LLC. The head of the Russian office, Irina Stepanova, informed Forbes that the company had completed its activities. “It was predictable. “The 14th sanctions package prohibits American and European companies from doing business in Russia,” he said.
The liquidation of the company took place on September 24. The company has been operating in Russia since 2006 and is engaged in the trade of works of art through commercial art galleries.
In November 2023, Russian auction houses merged into a holding company to conduct “Russian auctions.” Christie’s and Sotheby’s ceased their activities in the Russian market in the spring of 2022, following the start of military operations in Ukraine.
Author:
Nikolai Tikhonov
Source: RB
I am a professional journalist and content creator with extensive experience writing for news websites. I currently work as an author at Gadget Onus, where I specialize in covering hot news topics. My written pieces have been published on some of the biggest media outlets around the world, including The Guardian and BBC News.
