When American Steven Lynch acquired the Dutch Yukos Finance at the auction of assets of the bankrupt oil company in Moscow, he did so in association with other investors. One of them may soon be the American hedge fund VR Finance, which is a veteran on the Russian market and specializes in problematic assets.VR Finance chief Richard Deitz explained that “Monte Valle bought Promneftstroi and now it is in negotiations with several companies to obtain the funds needed to fulfill its obligations , and we are one of those firms.” Promneftstroi has two weeks from the time of the auction (August 15) to pay for its purchase.Yukos Finance is a problematic asset. YUKOS bankruptcy manager Eduard Rebgun was unable to establish control over it and it is run in practice by former YUKOS executives, who challenged all of Rebgun's decisions in Dutch court. Experts say those cases may continue for “years.” Rebgun did not even have a full list of Yukos Finance's assets and, therefore, the compa
When American Steven Lynch acquired the Dutch Yukos Finance at the auction of assets of the bankrupt oil company in Moscow, he did so in association with other investors. One of them may soon be the American hedge fund VR Finance, which is a veteran on the Russian market and specializes in problematic assets.VR Finance chief Richard Deitz explained that “Monte Valle bought Promneftstroi and now it is in negotiations with several companies to obtain the funds needed to fulfill its obligations , and we are one of those firms.” Promneftstroi has two weeks from the time of the auction (August 15) to pay for its purchase.Yukos Finance is a problematic asset. YUKOS bankruptcy manager Eduard Rebgun was unable to establish control over it and it is run in practice by former YUKOS executives, who challenged all of Rebgun's decisions in Dutch court. Experts say those cases may continue for “years.” Rebgun did not even have a full list of Yukos Finance's assets and, therefore, the compa
A company that Rosneft recently sold to a U.S. entrepreneur bought Yukos' international unit at a forced auction Wednesday, as former Yukos managers vowed to pursue a legal challenge to salvage part of what was once the country's largest oil firm. Promneftstroi, recently acquired by businessman Stephen Lynch, won the unit, Yukos Finance, for 7.8 billion rubles ($305 million) after five minutes of bidding. The winning bid fell well below the $2.7 billion value that former Yukos managers place on the unit, and was just 240 million rubles ($9 million) above the starting price.
Rosneft Isn´t Willing to Pay Yukos Debts A few lawsuits were filed to the arbitration courts late past week to challenge loans that Luxembourg Yukos Capital S.a.r.l. granted in 2004 to Yukos subsidiaries, which are currently controlled by Rosneft.If nine loan agreements are acknowledged null and void, Rosneft won’t pay roughly 20 billion rubles to Yukos Capital that the latter is attempting to enforce via the International Commercial Arbitration. Some Vesta Co. filed four suits to Moscow Arbitration on August 9, 2007. Acting on behalf of Rosneft, Vesta is seeking invalidation for four loan agreements worth $450 million that Yukos Capital and Yuganskneftegaz concluded in July to August of 2004. Rosneft is the legal successor to Yuganskneftegaz.On September 19, 2006, the International Commercial Arbitration of Russia’s Chamber of Commerce ruled to charge from Rosneft roughly 13 billion rubles (with accrued interest taken into account) in favor of Yukos Capital.On May 18, 2007, ho
Eduard Rebgun, the bankruptcy receiver of battered oil company Yukos, has submitted a request to the Moscow Arbitration Court for receivership proceedings to be prolonged by six months, his press secretary said Friday. Yukos, once Russia's largest oil company, was declared bankrupt on August 1, 2006, after three years of litigation with tax authorities over arrears. Its founder, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, is serving an eight-year prison sentence in Siberia for fraud and tax evasion. The request to the court said: "Due to the large volume of work and the difficulty of solving liquidation tasks, keeping to the deadline [set out in a bankruptcy law] is not possible." Through a series of liquidation auctions, Yukos has repaid more than 400 billion rubles ($16 billion) to creditors. The company's key production and refining assets have been bought up by Rosneft at auctions, making the state-controlled company one of the country's leading crude producers. The bankruptcy receiver's statement s
Eduard Rebgun, the bankruptcy receiver of battered oil company Yukos, has submitted a request to the Moscow Arbitration Court for receivership proceedings to be prolonged by six months, his press secretary said Friday. Yukos, once Russia's largest oil company, was declared bankrupt on August 1, 2006, after three years of litigation with tax authorities over arrears. Its founder, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, is serving an eight-year prison sentence in Siberia for fraud and tax evasion. The request to the court said: "Due to the large volume of work and the difficulty of solving liquidation tasks, keeping to the deadline [set out in a bankruptcy law] is not possible." Through a series of liquidation auctions, Yukos has repaid more than 400 billion rubles ($16 billion) to creditors. The company's key production and refining assets have been bought up by Rosneft at auctions, making the state-controlled company one of the country's leading crude producers. The bankruptcy receiver's statement s
The purchaser of Lot 19, made up of YUKOS foreign assets with a starting price of $300 million, may receive assets worth over $1.2 billion. Moravel Investments Ltd. now has claims to $700 million worth of them due to YUKOS debt, but it is likely that the company will be paid from the YUKOS bankruptcy proceedings in Russia. In that case, the winner of the auction, scheduled for August 15, would receive YUKOS foreign assets unencumbered. Experts expect Rosneft to be that winner. In the nearest future, the presidium of the Supreme Court of Arbitration should prepare the full text of the resolution of the case of the Cypriote company Moravel Ltd. It is demanding about $700 million from YUKOS on the basis of a decision of a London international commercial court of September 16, 2005. A credit was made to YUKOS, from which the debt arose, in 2003 against the funds of Group MENATEP, the main shareholder of the oil company. Then Moravel, the beneficiary of which is MENATEP, received the
The purchaser of Lot 19, made up of YUKOS foreign assets with a starting price of $300 million, may receive assets worth over $1.2 billion. Moravel Investments Ltd. now has claims to $700 million worth of them due to YUKOS debt, but it is likely that the company will be paid from the YUKOS bankruptcy proceedings in Russia. In that case, the winner of the auction, scheduled for August 15, would receive YUKOS foreign assets unencumbered. Experts expect Rosneft to be that winner. In the nearest future, the presidium of the Supreme Court of Arbitration should prepare the full text of the resolution of the case of the Cypriote company Moravel Ltd. It is demanding about $700 million from YUKOS on the basis of a decision of a London international commercial court of September 16, 2005. A credit was made to YUKOS, from which the debt arose, in 2003 against the funds of Group MENATEP, the main shareholder of the oil company. Then Moravel, the beneficiary of which is MENATEP, received the
YUKOS creditors the Federal Tax Service and Rosneft have found a way around the drawn-out court case involving Yukos Finance, the foreign asset of the bankrupt oil company that is practically beyond the control of YUKOS bankruptcy manager Eduard Rebgun. Without waiting for a decision by the court, they have included Yukos Finance in the next lot of YUKOS assets to be auctioned off.Analysts say Russian authorities are trying to complete the YUKOS bankruptcy, which will be impossible without the sale of Yukos Finance. They expect Rosneft to be the buyer, even while it continues the court case. Yukos Finance Up for Sale Already The sale of two more lots of YUKOS property was officially announced on Saturday after being assemble at a session of the company's creditors committee on Friday. On August 15, the YUKOS 13-billion ruble accounts receivable will be sold, as will the troublesome Yukos Finance, which is registered in The Netherlands and embroiled in unpredictable legal battle
YUKOS creditors the Federal Tax Service and Rosneft have found a way around the drawn-out court case involving Yukos Finance, the foreign asset of the bankrupt oil company that is practically beyond the control of YUKOS bankruptcy manager Eduard Rebgun. Without waiting for a decision by the court, they have included Yukos Finance in the next lot of YUKOS assets to be auctioned off.Analysts say Russian authorities are trying to complete the YUKOS bankruptcy, which will be impossible without the sale of Yukos Finance. They expect Rosneft to be the buyer, even while it continues the court case. Yukos Finance Up for Sale Already The sale of two more lots of YUKOS property was officially announced on Saturday after being assemble at a session of the company's creditors committee on Friday. On August 15, the YUKOS 13-billion ruble accounts receivable will be sold, as will the troublesome Yukos Finance, which is registered in The Netherlands and embroiled in unpredictable legal battle
The government will start taking bids Monday for an overseas unit of bankrupt oil firm Yukos that controls a 49 percent stake in Transpetrol, Slovakia's pipeline operator. The Federal Property Fund will take bids for Yukos Finance BV through Aug. 13 and hold an auction Aug. 15, Rossiiskaya Gazeta reported Saturday. The starting price is 7.6 billion rubles ($299 million), the government newspaper said. Yukos Finance's assets include the proceeds from the sale of a 54 percent stake in Lithuanian refinery Mazeikiu for almost $1.5 billion and a 49 percent stake in Transpetrol worth $100 million to $200 million. Yukos' 13.7 billion rubles of accounts receivable will also be auctioned Aug. 15, at a starting price of 11.5 billion rubles, Rossiiskaya Gazeta said. Accounts receivable is money owed, but not yet collected, for goods or services. On Wednesday, Yukos receiver Eduard Rebgun said he believed Yukos and its former owners still might have more than $10 billion in property and assets
Rosneft won an auction of property and equipment of bankrupt oil firm Yukos on Thursday, paying 5.85 billion rubles ($229 million) for assets that may help the state-controlled major secure large crude reserves. Rosneft, which has so far emerged as the winner of almost all important Yukos property auctions, beat previously unknown firm Benefit with a bid just 2 percent above the starting price. The auction took less than 10 minutes. That was two bids higher than the starting price of 5.73 billion rubles, one of the fastest sales this year. The state oil company bid directly, rather than through a unit, as it did at other auctions this year. The lot included property rights and equipment at 11 large oil and gas fields, and their owner will have an advantage in booking reserves in the future. The fields are in the Samara region and the Evkenia and Khanty-Mansiisk autonomous districts, where Rosneft produces most of its oil, including the East Salym, Tersk-Komovsk and Sredne-Balyksk fi
Rosneft has bought about 600 filling stations that belonged to bankrupt oil firm Yukos for 21.2 billion rubles ($819 million), the company said Tuesday. Rosneft said its 100 percent subsidiary Neft-Aktiv bought Unitex, which has 495 filling stations and a number of product terminals in European and southern Russia, for 16.3 billion rubles. Neft-Aktiv also bought more than 100 retail stations from another lot of the Yukos assets for 4.9 billion rubles. Unitex, a little-known company whose owners have not been disclosed, paid 17.5 billion rubles ($676 million) in auctions that included the assets bought by Rosneft. The purchase of the filling stations would help Rosneft become a leader in the retail market in Russia, Rosneft said. "Having added refining capacity lately, and with our desire to expand the downstream business generally, it's clear that it's a very profitable business and will continue to grow, and the margins are attractive," said Peter O'Brien, Rosneft's finance v
Rosneft has bought about 600 filling stations that belonged to bankrupt oil firm Yukos for 21.2 billion rubles ($819 million), the company said Tuesday. Rosneft said its 100 percent subsidiary Neft-Aktiv bought Unitex, which has 495 filling stations and a number of product terminals in European and southern Russia, for 16.3 billion rubles. Neft-Aktiv also bought more than 100 retail stations from another lot of the Yukos assets for 4.9 billion rubles. Unitex, a little-known company whose owners have not been disclosed, paid 17.5 billion rubles ($676 million) in auctions that included the assets bought by Rosneft. The purchase of the filling stations would help Rosneft become a leader in the retail market in Russia, Rosneft said. "Having added refining capacity lately, and with our desire to expand the downstream business generally, it's clear that it's a very profitable business and will continue to grow, and the margins are attractive," said Peter O'Brien, Rosneft's finance v
Prana, the obscure company which paid $4 billion to buy headquarters of oil bankrupt YUKOS, finalized the deal on Friday. The company still declines to name its owners. In an effort to find ultimate beneficiaries of the mysterious firm, Kommersant has found yet another clue leading to Gazprombank. YUKOS’s official receiver Eduard Rebgun and Prana’s director general Vladimir Esakov on Friday signed a deal on the lot that Prana won in an auction on May 11, Mr. Rebgun's spokesperson reported. Prana, which paid $3.88 billion to acquire key assets of the bankrupt energy giant, does not speak to media, keeping names of its owners in secret. Kommersant sources in YUKOS report that the Prana deal was finalized with the help of the Salans law firm which also consulted Enineftegaz which bought another YUKOS asset. Enineftegaz announced before the auction that Gazprom will receive a 2-year option to buy the asset. Other unofficial sources provided Kommersant with a phone number that Pr
Prana, the obscure company which paid $4 billion to buy headquarters of oil bankrupt YUKOS, finalized the deal on Friday. The company still declines to name its owners. In an effort to find ultimate beneficiaries of the mysterious firm, Kommersant has found yet another clue leading to Gazprombank. YUKOS’s official receiver Eduard Rebgun and Prana’s director general Vladimir Esakov on Friday signed a deal on the lot that Prana won in an auction on May 11, Mr. Rebgun's spokesperson reported. Prana, which paid $3.88 billion to acquire key assets of the bankrupt energy giant, does not speak to media, keeping names of its owners in secret. Kommersant sources in YUKOS report that the Prana deal was finalized with the help of the Salans law firm which also consulted Enineftegaz which bought another YUKOS asset. Enineftegaz announced before the auction that Gazprom will receive a 2-year option to buy the asset. Other unofficial sources provided Kommersant with a phone number that Pr
by Denis Rebrov, Ekaterina Grishkovets, Natalia Grib; Irina Paramonova, Tula
The sell-off of the main YUKOS production enterprises was completed yesterday. All the most significant of them went to Rosneft, making it the leader among Russian producers and refiners. Even YUKOS sales outlets, which Rosneft turned down at the last minute, may end up with it in the end. In addition, it may get
by Denis Rebrov, Ekaterina Grishkovets, Natalia Grib; Irina Paramonova, Tula
The sell-off of the main YUKOS production enterprises was completed yesterday. All the most significant of them went to Rosneft, making it the leader among Russian producers and refiners. Even YUKOS sales outlets, which Rosneft turned down at the last minute, may end up with it in the end. In addition, it may get
Moscow - A central Moscow high-rise and other real estate were among the last major holdings of fallen Russian oil company Yukos to sell for 3.89 billion dollars at auction on Friday, as the one-time leading oil firm nears oblivion. More...
by Catherine Belton Rosneft snapped up the last production unit belonging to Yukos for a steep discount in a bankruptcy auction on Thursday, sealing the state-run oil major's takeover of Mikhail KhodorkovÂsky's empire, once Russia's biggest. Rosneft beat the only other bidder to pay $6.43bn for the Samaraneftegaz unit and three refineries in a 10-minute auction.The sole remaining major Yukos
by Catherine Belton Rosneft snapped up the last production unit belonging to Yukos for a steep discount in a bankruptcy auction on Thursday, sealing the state-run oil major's takeover of Mikhail KhodorkovÂsky's empire, once Russia's biggest. Rosneft beat the only other bidder to pay $6.43bn for the Samaraneftegaz unit and three refineries in a 10-minute auction.The sole remaining major Yukos
TNK-BP will bid for a lot including more than 500 Yukos gas stations at a state auction this week, a company spokesman said Monday, despite having faced widespread criticism for taking part in a previous sale of the bankrupt oil company's assets. The lot, due to be auctioned Thursday afternoon, carries a starting price of 7.7 billion rubles (nearly $300 million). Nafta-Moskva, the investment
TNK-BP will bid for a lot including more than 500 Yukos gas stations at a state auction this week, a company spokesman said Monday, despite having faced widespread criticism for taking part in a previous sale of the bankrupt oil company's assets. The lot, due to be auctioned Thursday afternoon, carries a starting price of 7.7 billion rubles (nearly $300 million). Nafta-Moskva, the investment
Rosneft, Russia's government-owned oil company, paid USD 6.82 billion at an auction on May 3 for Siberian oil producer Tomskneft and other assets formerly belonging to Mikhail Khodorkovsky's bankrupt YUKOS. More..
by Miriam Elder
Rosneft achieved its goal of becoming the country's largest oil company on Thursday as it scooped up Tomskneft, Yukos' penultimate oil unit to go under the auctioneer's hammer. In 15 minutes of sometimes-confused bidding, a Rosneft subsidiary beat out a challenge from a mystery firm thought linked to Gazprom, buying Tomskneft and other assets for $6.8 billion, just $350 million
by Miriam Elder
Rosneft achieved its goal of becoming the country's largest oil company on Thursday as it scooped up Tomskneft, Yukos' penultimate oil unit to go under the auctioneer's hammer. In 15 minutes of sometimes-confused bidding, a Rosneft subsidiary beat out a challenge from a mystery firm thought linked to Gazprom, buying Tomskneft and other assets for $6.8 billion, just $350 million
Rosneft could oust oil firm Yukos from three of its refineries as early as May, before the plants are auctioned by the state, traders said Thursday. Rosneft plans to use the entire processing capacity of the Samara group of refineries from next month, processing its own crude and most likely topping up with crude currently supplied by Yukos, traders said. The Syzran, Novokuibyshevsk and
