YUKOS merger talks suspended
Posted: 28 October 2003
Discussions between YUKOS and US-based oil companies ExxonMobil,
and ChevronTexaco have been suspended until the fate of Mikhail
Khodorkovsky, the head of YUKOS who was arrested this weekend, becomes
clearer, the Financial
Times reports.
Both companies are still interested in a stake in Russia’s
largest oil company. A source close to the deal said it would be
signed, the only question was when.
Negotiations with Chevron, the smaller of the two companies, are
believed to be more advanced.
Chevron could be seeking to forge a partnership structure with
YUKOS, and even be considering asset swaps as a way of gaining entry
to the region's oil and gas reserves.
Exxon is understood to want greater control in the merger, and
is looking to take a stake of up to 40 per cent in YUKOS.
If YUKOS sells a significant stake, the deal could represent the
biggest foreign investment deal in Russia. A quick agreement is
unlikely while Khodorkovsky remains in custody.
Russian analysts believe the negotiations between YUKOS and the
two US-based oil companies on the sale of a large stake in YUKOSSibneft
will resume once YUKOS’ political problems are settled.
Sergey Suverov, analyst at the Zenit bank, believes once the companies
agree on the sale, the deal will have to be approved by Russian
President Vladimir Putin.
In Mr. Suverov’s opinion, the political situation around
YUKOS will not have any significant impact on the price of a stake
in YUKOSSibneft.
“YUKOS’s activities are based not on politics but on
the economy, and, from this point of view, the company is OK,”
Suverov stressed.
On Saturday, October 25, the Basmanny Court of Moscow issued an
arrest warrant for Mikhail Khodorkovsky. He was detained in Novosibirsk,
and taken to Moscow for questioning.
In Moscow, the Prosecutor General’s Office charged Mr. Khodorkovsky
with six counts. In particular, the businessman is accused of fraud
(Article 159 of the Russian Criminal Code), non-compliance with
a court judgment (Article 315), tax evasion (Articles 198 and 199),
causing material damage by way of fraud and abuse of trust (Article
165) and document forgery (Article 327).
For more information see top.rbc.ru
Posted by Richard Price,
Editor Pipeline Magazine
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