Moscow press review for April 14, 2011
MOSCOW. April 14 (Interfax) - The following is a digest of Moscow newspapers published on April 14. Interfax does not accept liability for information in these stories.
VEDOMOSTI
Rosneft and BP have failed to swap their stakes in the three months allotted to the deal, and the deadline will expire at midnight on Thursday. However, Vedomosti has learned that the partners plan to extend the deadline for one more month, which is necessary to complete negotiations with AAR, sources close to both companies said. Various options are being discussed, including the possibility that AAR's share in TNK-BP could be bought back along with BP. The configuration of the deal is not completely clear, the talks are continuing, but the companies have so far been unable to reach an agreement, sources close to the three companies say. "Everything that has been proposed so far is not serious," a source close to AAR told Vedomosti. "We've failed to agree on the price," a source close to Rosneft confirms. ('Rosneft And BP Take A Break', see also Kommersant, page 11, 'BP Runs Out Of Time')
Bashneft will transfer 25% in the Trebs and Titov project to Lukoil , two sources close to Bashneft and one to its principal owner, AFK Sistema , told Vedomosti. A source from the Nenets autonomous district confirmed this information, saying that he was aware of the tentative deal from Lukoil employees. A source close to Sistema says Bashneft is likely to set up a new company to which it will transfer the license to develop the fields. After that, 25% plus one share will be sold to Lukoil, which is likely to pay for the stake in cash. Then the joint venture will buy back Lukoil's infrastructure at these fields. The source did not say how much this infrastructure will cost. ('Subsurface Resources To Be Divided Between Two')
It looks like Gennady Timchenko has decided to turn its oil trader Gunvor into Glencore by adding coal assets to its oil and gas ones. The Kolmar holding company, 51% in which Mikhail Prokhorov has put up for sale, could be the first one to join Gunvor. Bloomberg reported about Gunvor's plans on Wednesday, citing two sources aware of details of the negotiations. The terms and conditions of the deal could be agreed upon by the end of the week, and its worth could be about $300 million, one of the agency's sources said. A source close to one of the parties confirmed to Vedomosti that negotiations on a controlling stake in Kolmar were under way. Provisional documents have already been signed, but this does not mean that the deal can be considered closed, he said. ('Timchenko With Coal', see also Kommersant, page 9, 'Gennady Timchenko Will Dig Out Yakut Coal')
The 17th Arbitration Appeals Court on Wednesday lifted the last injunction a lower court had earlier imposed under a lawsuit by Silvinit minority shareholders, Uralkali has reported. The matter implies the invalidation of the Federal Financial Markets Service (FFMS) ban on registering Uralkali's extra issue and a report on its placement. The deal worth $7.8 billion was called into question after Silvinit minority shareholders, i.e. Acron , ROF (Cyprus), Licona International, and Medvezhonok Holdings Ltd. (a Prosperity Capital affiliate) demanded invalidating the outcomes of a Silvinit shareholder meeting, at which its merger with Uralkali was approved. ('Uralkali Repulses Medvezhonok')
Vedomosti has learned that the Russian Finance Ministry is trying to renegotiate agreements on avoiding double taxation with some popular holding jurisdictions, i.e. the Benelux countries, Switzerland and Austria, so that Russian tax authorities could receive information containing tax and banking secrets from these countries. The negotiations with Switzerland and Luxembourg have already been finished, says Dmitry Nikolayev, the head of the Finance Ministry's international taxation department. Draft government directives on signing protocols to the existing agreements are undergoing interagency clearance now. The Netherlands, however, is so far unwilling to commit itself to disclosing banking and commercial secrets. ('Exchange of Secrets')
KOMMERSANT
Lukoil will have to start building its business without its strategic partner this year, as ConocoPhillips, which owed about 20% in the Russian oil company's stock, has withdrawn from its capital. Lukoil Vice President and co-owner Leonid Fedoun tells Kommersant about the way Lukoil will develop and whether the company will agree to the government's political decisions. (Page 14, 'Guys, We Are Returning To Soviet Union, And We Have Regulated Gasoline Prices')
Viktor Rashnikov, the primary owner of Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works, or MMK , may pull out of the company's operational management. MMK has overcome a crisis and has finished almost all its key projects. Analysts also believe that the company has "a perfectly built management structure," and the principal shareholder's departure "will not fundamentally change anything." (Page 11, 'MMK May Be Left Without Principal Shareholder')