Russia: Gazprom Neft Looking to Purchase 100% of Sibir Energy
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Monday, 28 September 2009 |
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Gazprom Neft, the oil arm of Russia's Gazprom, has filed a request to
the anti-trust watchdog to buy 100 percent of mid-sized oil company
Sibir Energy, the competition body FAS said.
FAS said it had extended the review period for the request,
originally filed on Aug. 21, as 'the proposed deal may restrict
competition.' Gazprom Neft confirmed it had filed the request and
said it expected to receive a resolution from the regulator within
two-month period. Sibir Energy declined to comment. In its
first-quarter report on Aug. 26, Gazprom said its subsidiaries had
accumulated a stake of 55 percent in Sibir Energy in recent months.
Sibir became Gazprom Neft's acquisition target after Shalva
Chigirinsky, one of Sibir's main shareholders, was forced to put up his
stake as collateral with state bank Sberbank to meet obligations on
Western loans. The Moscow city government, which together with
the Bank of Moscow holds a 19.3 percent stake in Sibir Energy, has also
said it wants to boost its stake in the firm.
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