Russian oil major Rosneft planning second IPO
Russian state-controlled oil major Rosneft, the country’s number two oil producer, is planning a second listing, a newspaper has reported.
The Kremlin “has taken a decision in principle to carry out a second IPO (Initial Public Offering)”, business daily RBK quoted an unnamed official from Russia’s federal property agency Rosimushchestvo as saying Wednesday.
Nikolai Manvelov, a Rosneft spokesman, declined to comment on the report, saying: “Everything that concerns the shares of our company can only be commented on by the shareholders.”
Rosimushchestvo owns more than 75 percent of shares in Rosneft.
In July 2006, Rosneft raised 10.4 billion dollars (8.2 billion euros) from a listing of 15 percent of shares in both London and Moscow, making it one of the 10 biggest IPOs ever.
RBK quoted an anonymous market source as saying the company could list “up to 25 percent of shares,” adding that the Russian state would “keep a controlling stake.”
Igor Sechin, the deputy head of the Kremlin presidential administration, is also chairman of the board at Rosneft, which has expanded rapidly after buying a key production unit in 2004 from troubled oil giant Yukos.
Source: AFP
