Lukoil 'won't kill itself' for Bashneft - Fedun
MOSCOW. April 4 (Interfax) - Lukoil won't overpay for Bashneft , Leonid Fedun, the company's vice president for strategic development, said on a conference call.
"I personally have a skeptical attitude toward the Bashneft privatization. During the acute phase of the crisis, they talked about privatization, but they still haven't selected the consultants. There has been no information so far. Oil prices have gone up 50% since plans to privatize Bashneft were announced. Bashneft is already undervalued. Today, Bashneft is already worth more than Lukoil, with the multiples included," Fedun said.
"For that reason, paying some insubstantial premium would be unfair to shareholders. Bashneft is at the peak of its development. The projects it launched have generated quick returns," Fedun said.
"The sole asset that represents real interest is Bashneft-Polyus, in which we have 25%. So it would be untrue to say that Lukoil will overpay and kill itself for this project. We have a model, we have an understanding of the fair price. We won't overpay a single kopeck. We won't even consider 25%," he said.
Lukoil has publicly stated that it is interested in purchasing Bashneft, stressing that the company is interested in acquiring a controlling stake.
The state currently owns 50.08% of Bashneft shares and Bashkortostan has 25% plus one share.
The head of CJSC Tatneftegaz Sergei Bakhir, formerly a vice president at Russneft , wrote a letter to President Vladimir Putin on February 2 proposing that the state's entire Bashneft stake - 75.08% of shares - be transferred into Tatneftegaz's management for a 10-year term. The deal would provide state property agency Rosimushchestvo and Bashkortostan with $4 billion and $2 billion respectively, Bakhir said in the letter.
