Yukos eyes share issue to pay tax
ByLine: By ANDREW JACK
Executives at Yukos, the embattled Russian oil group, are considering issuing
new shares to be sold for cash or given to the government as a way to settle
tax claims of at least Dollars 3.4bn (Pounds 1.8bn), a company official said
yesterday.
The move could dilute the holding of Menatep, the group of controlling
shareholders led by Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the former chief executive, and
give the state strong influence.
Mr Khodorkovsky and his business partner, Platon Lebedev, face nearly Dollars
2bn in fraud and tax evasion charges in a criminal trial due to open on
Wednesday.
The issuing of shares is one of several ideas that the company official said
Yukos had proposed to the government last week. Yukos is subject to a court
order blocking asset sales. The official said other options included seeking
permission from the authorities to lift partially the blocking order. This
would let Yukos sell assets such as its stake in oil group Sibneft and give
it time to raise additional credit. Another company executive and an adviser
to Menatep denied knowledge of the schemes.
Yukos theoretically risks bankruptcy as soon as this Friday, when a Moscow
court rules on whether to uphold a Dollars 3.4bn claim by the tax ministry
for alleged tax evasion in 2000. The company, which is contesting the
assessments, is concerned that fresh bills for subsequent years could push
total tax demands as high as Dollars 10bn.
Bruce Misamore, chief financial officer, said he was unaware of approaches to
the authorities. He said Yukos only had about Dollars 800m in cash and the
tax demand was likely to hinder its investment plans and risk pushing it into
bankruptcy.
He said Yukos was still in talks over the possible restructuring of Dollars
2.6bn in debt. It is fighting an annulment of its merger with Sibneft, which
was implemented last year.
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