Gunvor: no plans to sell assets; premature to speak of new partner for Tornqvist
MOSCOW. March 31 (Interfax) - Trading company Gunvor has no plans to sell its assets, a company spokesman told Interfax.
"Gunvor has no intention of selling its assets. No negotiations or even discussions regarding that possibility are taking place," the spokesman said.
Nor have there been any discussions so far concerning plans to alter the current structure of ownership. "It's too early to talk about that," the spokesman said.
Last week Swedish billionaire Torbjorn Tornqvist, who purchased Gennady Timchenko's stake in Gunvor the day before U.S. sanctions were imposed against Timchenko, said a new partner might be brought into Gunvor.
Previously Tornqvist and Timchenko each owned 43% stakes in Gunvor. Management held a combined 13%.
Tornqvist has said Gunvor would benefit from a somewhat more diversified shareholder equity structure.
Gunvor's Russia-based assets are a stake in LLC Petroresurs, which operate the Lagansky block in the Caspian Sea (30%, half of which it plans to sell to Rosneft) and coal producer Kolmar. Gunvor operates the Ust-Luga oil terminal, which is linked to the Baltic Pipeline System 2, where the company has a 50% stake, and it owns 50% of LLC Novorossiysk Fuel Oil Terminal. Gunvor also owns the Ust-Luga oil product terminal with capacity to ship up to 30 million tonnes of oil products a year.
Gunvor has a host of assets abroad.
