Yukos Finance to Be Sold in Netherlands
YUKOS oversees property will be sold for a second time. An Amsterdam district court ruled on December 20 to organize an open auction of Yukos Finance stock that has already been acquired by American financier Stephen Lynch. His Promneftstroi company has been declared an interested party in the case, but without preemptive rights. A Dutch court ruled on October 31 that the Russian sell-off of YUKOS assets "contradicted Dutch public order." Therefore, YUKOS stockholders that did not receive money from the selling of YUKOS property in Russia (that is mainly Group MENATEP) will have a chance to receive funds now.
The auction will take place on March 28 and will be held in three stages, in which the lowest-bidding third of the participants will be eliminated. It there is more than one bidder offering the same top price at the end, the winner will be decided by drawing lots. Announcements of the auction and its rules will be published in several cities in Russia, the United States, Great Britain, The Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Iran and the People's Republic of China.
The courts decision came in response to two suits filed by YUKOS creditors, the Cypriote Moravel Investments Ltd. (part of Group MENATEP), which is owed $655 million, and Rosneft, which purchased the right to the YUKOS debt to a consortium of creditor banks for $455 million.
A spokesman for Yukos Finance commented that the court's decision, “strengthens our certainty in the position of the court.” Yukos Finance's assets are estimated at $1.492 billion, derived mainly from the sale of 53.7 percent of the Lithuanian oil refinery Mazeikiu nafta in 2006 and 49 percent of the Slovakian oil pipeline company Transpetrol. The company itself claims to be worth $2.7 billion.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Jan. 14, 2008
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