Suleiman Kerimov YUKOS' White Knight
// The head of Nafta Moskva steps in
Several source yesterday informed Kommersant that Suleiman Kerimov, owner of Nafta Moskva investment company and member of the State Duma, may come to rescue YUKOS from being sold off as a result of its bankruptcy. Sources say that he is the secret investor who intends to buy the company's multibillion-dollar debts from its creditors. Experts say that that scenario is possible, although the details may hold surprises.
YUKOS chairman of the board Viktor Gerashchenko said on Echo of Moscow radio station on July 27 that a foreign investor had proposed buying YUKOS' debts. Two high-placed sources yesterday identified Kerimov as that investor. They said that Kerimov has already held negotiations with YUKOS president Steven Theede. Gerashchenko told Kommersant yesterday that he had met with representatives of the potential investor and that that investor was the representative of a foreign government. Gerashchenko added that the investor already owns assets in Russia, although he was unable to say what those assets were. He expressed out that Kerimov was the investor. YUKOS spokesperson Claire Davidson stated that the YUKOS management met on Monday with the investor, whose identity Davidson declined to divulge, but negotiations were halted the next day when the management lost control over the company.
The Moscow Arbitration Court declared YUKOS bankrupt on August 1 and annulled the authority of the company's management. The company's property is now to be sold off, but the law allows any outside investor to pay the company's debts at any moment and effectively receive control over its assets. Neither the receiver nor the creditors can prevent it. Registered demands by creditors against YUKOS now stand at 491.575 billion rubles.
Kerimov ranks 72nd on the Forbes list of billionaires this year with an estimated worth of $7.1 billion. He is considered the owner of the Nafta Moskva investment company, which owns 6 percent of Sberbank and 4.5 percent of Gazprom. Besides that, the company owns the National Cable Network and 59 percent in another cable television provider, Mostelekom, the elite Rublevo-Arkhangelsky housing project, the Polimetall gold mining company, 50 percent in the Merkado chain of supermarkets, 19.9 percent of BIN Bank, 2 percent of the Moscow Municipal Telephone Network and 91 percent of the Krasnopresnensky sugar factory.
On August 10, the Moscow Arbitration Court could rule in favor of Rosneft-controlled Yuganskneftegaz in its suit against YUKOS, its former parent company, and Hulley Enterprises, the offshore company that is the main YUKOS stockholder. If the court awards Yuganskneftegaz the 226.2 billion rubles it is seeking, that sum will be demanded of Hulley Enterprises and compensation may be sought out of the company's 49-percent stock package in YUKOS. In that way, Rosneft may eventually end up with a large package of YUKOS shares, although it has said that it wants cash rather than YUKOS stock. In that case, an investor could obtain a significant package of YUKOS-Rosneft stock just by paying of YUKOS' tax debt.
Kerimov is well-positioned both financially and politically. He has been linked in business to Roman Abramovich and Oleg Deripaska. The latter may also be interested in the oil company and met with Russian President Vladimir Putin last on August 2. If a megadeal for YUKOS takes places, however, the division of its assets will be decided through haggling with the authorities, experts say.
Maxim Shishkin, Olga Pleshanova, Natalia Skorlygina, Sergey Tyagay, Dmitry Butrin
All the Article in Russian as of Aug. 04, 2006
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