Lebedev selling last 4.5% stake in Aeroflot - paper
MOSCOW. June 13 (Interfax) - The owner of the National Reserve Corporation, Alexander Lebedev plans to soon sell his remaining shares in Russian flag carrier Aeroflot , business daily Vedomosti reported on Thursday, citing a source at NRC and an investment banker looking for a buyer for the stake.
Lebedev confirmed this, and said he is offering to sell 4.5% of shares in the airline, the paper said.
This means that NRC's stake in Aeroflot has shrunk by nearly two thirds in the last six months. Lebedev said last November that he owned 12.5%.
Vedomosti cited a source at Uralsib as saying that the investment company had earlier sold about 4% of Aeroflot shares on behalf of major clients, including Lebedev, and expects to be involved in the sale of the billionaire's remaining shares.
Lebedev said he is holding negotiations with a number of investment banks, including foreign ones. He does not intend to sell the stake to strategic investors. If he does not get a good offer, the shares will be offered on the market.
Based on Aeroflot's current market capitalization, 4.5% of the airline's shares are worth about 2.5 billion rubles. The Russian government owns 51.17% of Aeroflot.
