BP Plc, the second-largest publicly traded oil company, and state-owned Malaysian and Chinese oil producers, bought about a quarter of the $10.4 billion of shares sold in Russia's OAO Rosneft, whose July 14 initial public offering was Europe's biggest in seven years.
Malaysian state oil company Petroliam Nasional Bhd, or Petronas, bought $1.1 billion of stock, BP gained $1 billion and China National Petroleum Corp. acquired $500 million of shares, Rosneft Chief Executive Officer Sergei Bogdanchikov said today in St. Petersburg. The companies probably shouldn't be called strategic investors, a term Rosneft applies to any business that acquires more than 5 percent of its shares.
``On the other hand, we welcome strategic partners in concrete projects,'' Bogdanchikov told a news conference during the summit of the Group of Eight industrialized nations today. He cited existing ventures with BP, Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chinese oil company Sinopec in Russia's Far East as examples.
Russia's largest IPO lured oil companies seeking to boost production amid record crude prices, and as fields in areas such as the North Sea age. President Vladimir Putin, who yesterday opened the G-8 summit in his hometown of St. Petersburg, used the sale, which values Rosneft at more than No. 1 Russian producer OAO Lukoil, to tighten his grip over Russia's energy industry, the world's biggest.
Rosneft on July 14 said four investors, including foreign oil companies, intended to buy about 50 percent of the global depositary receipts in the IPO. Bogdanchikov today declined to identify the fourth investor. He said the three big investors he had named had bought considerably less than 50 percent of the total offering.
Rosneft and the Russian government sold 1.38 billion shares at $7.55 apiece in the offering.
Demand for Shares
Demand for shares exceeded availability. Bogdanchikov said foreign institutional investors from 46 countries bid for $6 billion of shares, with Russian institutional investors seeking shares worth $1.6 billion. The greatest foreign demand came from British investors, with buyers from the U.S. in second place.
The Russian government gets $8.5 billion from the offering, which will be used to pay off a loan used to raise the state's stake in OAO Gazprom, the world's biggest natural-gas producer, to a majority. Rosneft will raise about $1.9 billion. About 13 percent of the company will be freely traded.
Yukos Litigation
Rosneft is confident OAO Yukos Oil Co. will fail in its litigation against the state-owned company, including an attempt to block Rosneft's London listing, Bogdanchikov said.
A U.K. court on July 14 agreed to hear an attempt to block Rosneft's listing on the London Stock Exchange. Yukos, which claims its main asset OAO Yuganskneftegaz was unlawfully seized by Rosneft, is challenging U.K. market regulators' decision to allow the IPO to proceed. The case will open on July 17.
If Yukos wins an order suspending the listing, any Rosneft trades completed before July 19 would be voided, according to the London Stock Exchange.
``We have owned Yuganskneftegaz for a year and a half, during this time the former owners have filed lawsuits in the courts of many countries, in the U.S., U.K., the Netherlands and Russia and everywhere they have lost,'' Bogdanchikov said.
Rosneft may seek to acquire oil-producing or refining assets, provided they can provide a return on capital of at least 20 percent, Bogdanchikov said.
The company has never been interested in OAO Surgutneftegaz, Russia's fourth-biggest oil producer, because it doesn't offer such returns, he said. Bogdanchikov expressed bewilderment at speculation Rosneft has considered buying Surgut.
Malaysian state oil company Petroliam Nasional Bhd, or Petronas, bought $1.1 billion of stock, BP gained $1 billion and China National Petroleum Corp. acquired $500 million of shares, Rosneft Chief Executive Officer Sergei Bogdanchikov said today in St. Petersburg. The companies probably shouldn't be called strategic investors, a term Rosneft applies to any business that acquires more than 5 percent of its shares.
``On the other hand, we welcome strategic partners in concrete projects,'' Bogdanchikov told a news conference during the summit of the Group of Eight industrialized nations today. He cited existing ventures with BP, Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chinese oil company Sinopec in Russia's Far East as examples.
Russia's largest IPO lured oil companies seeking to boost production amid record crude prices, and as fields in areas such as the North Sea age. President Vladimir Putin, who yesterday opened the G-8 summit in his hometown of St. Petersburg, used the sale, which values Rosneft at more than No. 1 Russian producer OAO Lukoil, to tighten his grip over Russia's energy industry, the world's biggest.
Rosneft on July 14 said four investors, including foreign oil companies, intended to buy about 50 percent of the global depositary receipts in the IPO. Bogdanchikov today declined to identify the fourth investor. He said the three big investors he had named had bought considerably less than 50 percent of the total offering.
Rosneft and the Russian government sold 1.38 billion shares at $7.55 apiece in the offering.
Demand for Shares
Demand for shares exceeded availability. Bogdanchikov said foreign institutional investors from 46 countries bid for $6 billion of shares, with Russian institutional investors seeking shares worth $1.6 billion. The greatest foreign demand came from British investors, with buyers from the U.S. in second place.
The Russian government gets $8.5 billion from the offering, which will be used to pay off a loan used to raise the state's stake in OAO Gazprom, the world's biggest natural-gas producer, to a majority. Rosneft will raise about $1.9 billion. About 13 percent of the company will be freely traded.
Yukos Litigation
Rosneft is confident OAO Yukos Oil Co. will fail in its litigation against the state-owned company, including an attempt to block Rosneft's London listing, Bogdanchikov said.
A U.K. court on July 14 agreed to hear an attempt to block Rosneft's listing on the London Stock Exchange. Yukos, which claims its main asset OAO Yuganskneftegaz was unlawfully seized by Rosneft, is challenging U.K. market regulators' decision to allow the IPO to proceed. The case will open on July 17.
If Yukos wins an order suspending the listing, any Rosneft trades completed before July 19 would be voided, according to the London Stock Exchange.
``We have owned Yuganskneftegaz for a year and a half, during this time the former owners have filed lawsuits in the courts of many countries, in the U.S., U.K., the Netherlands and Russia and everywhere they have lost,'' Bogdanchikov said.
Rosneft may seek to acquire oil-producing or refining assets, provided they can provide a return on capital of at least 20 percent, Bogdanchikov said.
The company has never been interested in OAO Surgutneftegaz, Russia's fourth-biggest oil producer, because it doesn't offer such returns, he said. Bogdanchikov expressed bewilderment at speculation Rosneft has considered buying Surgut.
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