03 May 2004 12:30
Embattled Russian oil giant expected to change hands - expert
[No dateline, as received] A change of ownership is expected in the Russian Yukos oil company, Dmitriy
Tsaregorodtsev, analyst of the Prospect investment company, has said.
He told Ekho Moskvy radio that the owner of the company had already been replaced which proves the new structure of
shareholders of the Menatep group, which is the main shareholder of Yukos.
"It seems to me that the state's pressure on the shareholders has already become a success," he said.
"The fact that [former head of Yukos] Mikhail Khodorkovskiy is still in custody proves that an agreement on
compensations to him has not yet been finalized."
He believes that "the state wants more loyal entities of the market, for instance Surgutneftegaz, Rosneft or
Gazprom, to obtain control over the company and some private owners, senators for example, who have experience in oil
business and are loyal to the state, could become the intermediate owners."
"In this scenario the state is not interested in bankrupting Yukos and the appointment of Viktor Gerashchenko
(former Russian Central Bank chairman who is expected to become a member of the board of directors) is aimed at
preventing bankruptcy," Tsaregorodtsev said.
"The actions to prevent bankruptcy testify to the fact that they [the state] wish to preserve the company as an
undivided and fully functioning mechanism. Despite all the claims against Yukos, no steps have been taken to confiscate
anything: not a single penny or asset has been seized. The access to some property has been frozen, but the
company's operations have not been damaged," he said.
At the same time, the bankruptcy of Yukos "would have been more interesting to the state - it is day-to-day
management or external management", Tsaregorodtsev said.
[Ekho Moskvy news agency] |
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