State Can't Take Control of Gazprom
// Rosgazifikatsia demands to be paid for stock
The administration is discussing the purchase of 0.89 percent of the stock in Gazprom from AO Rosgazifikatsia. The state will be unable to assemble a direct controlling package in Gazprom (50.002 percent) without the Rosgazifikatsia stock. That company does not intend to sell its package, worth $2.115 billion on the market, cheaply.
Prime-TASS news agency reported yesterday, citing a source in the Federal Agency for Federal Property Management (Rosimushchestvo), that the administration does not plan on liquidating OAO Rosneftegaz, but using it as a “special-purpose company” for the consolidation of state Gazprom stock. The need for that, Kommersant has discovered, is linked to the fact that Rosimushchestvo has not conciliated a way for the state to acquire a controlling share in Gazprom. After acquiring 10.7 percent of Gazprom stock from the gas company's subsidiaries last summer, Rosimushchestvo is the owner of 49.113 percent of the company. Rosgazifikatsia holds 0.89 percent in Gazprom, and the state owns 74.5 percent of it. Thus the state's share in Gazprom can be considered 49.776 percent.
Rosgazifikatsia does not intend to help the state consolidate control over the gas giant, and is capable of resisting those attempts. Rosgazifikatsia was founded by order of First Russian President Boris Yeltsin for the gasification of the regions. It is a direct competitor with Gazprom in that undertaking. The 25.5 percent of it that is not in Rosimushchestvo hands is owned by regional gas companies and other companies and individuals. Gazprom had influence over Rosgazifikatsia between 2002 and 2005, after general director Vladimir Rakhuba was replaced by Sergey Shilov, former aid to Energy and Industry Minister Viktor Khristenko, then Gazprom board chairman Dmitry Medvedev, then Gazprom management board chairman Alexey Miller. Shilov did not have easy relations with his former employers, however. He quit his post in 2005 and was replaced by his deputy Valentin Izbitskikh, who had formerly worked at Transneft.
Two proposals were made at the end of 2005 for the state to gain complete control over Rosgazifikatsia and thus receive all of its stock in Gazprom. Neither proposal proved practical, however. Rosgazifikatsia is demanding 14 billion rubles in compensation from Gazprom for 50 million shares in the gas monopoly that were illegally withdrawn from Rosgazifikatsia accounts in 2000. The Moscow Arbitration Court's next hearing in that case is scheduled for August 8. A source close to Rosneftegaz told Kommersant that Rosgazifikatsia is demanding the market price for its Gazprom stock. Izbitskikh declined to comment on that information for Kommersant. The same source said that Rosneftegaz does not have $2.115 billion free for the purchase. Rosneftegaz received $8.39 billion after the recent Rosneft IPO, but all of that money went toward the company's debts.
It is not know how much longer Rosgazifikatsia can hold out against Rosimushchestvo and the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade. However, since it has done so for over a year already, it is clear that the company has very powerful lobbying resources.
Natalia Grib, Dmitry Butrin
All the Article in Russian as of Aug. 01, 2006
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