YUKOS Denies Exxon Deal Looming

[Dover]

YUKOS Denies Exxon Deal Looming

Fri October 3, 2003 03:53 AM ET
By Melissa Akin

MOSCOW (Reuters) - YUKOS and Sibneft were set to seal a $45 billion merger Friday to create Russia's biggest oil firm and open the way to foreign capital, but YUKOS denied it has already struck a deal with world No. 1 Exxon Mobil.

YUKOS CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky fell short of denying long-term prospects of such a mega-deal involving the new $45 billion Russian oil giant as he shared a conference platform with his counterpart from the U.S. giant, Lee Raymond.

"There is no deal, but when there is a deal we will make you happy by telling you," Khodorkovsky told reporters on the sidelines of a major economic forum in Moscow.

"We welcome foreign investment. It lowers the cost of capital and raises the value of our assets, but you can't apply the word 'necessary' to it," he said.

Raymond has not commented on the speculation.

The Exxon Mobil chief's presence at the forum alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin had fueled talk the U.S. major would consolidate its world number one status by buying a stake, possibly as much as 50 percent, in the newly born Russian giant.

A London source familiar with the YUKOS-Sibneft deal said: "Exxon Mobil are in the driving seat if they want to be... It's down to whether they have the guts and the brains."

However, completion of the YUKOS-Sibneft merger, effectively a $15 billion takeover of smaller Sibneft, is seen as the prerequisite to any foreign involvement...>> MORE

[Dover]

1. Yukos, Sibneft complete merger deal

Yukos, Sibneft complete merger deal - press release

Interfax. Friday, Oct. 3, 2003, 3:18 PM Moscow Time

MOSCOW. Oct 3 (Interfax) - The main shareholders in Yukos and Sibneft have completed a deal to merge the two companies, resulting in the creation of the company YukosSibneft, the companies said in a joint press release.
The press release noted that on October 2, 2003, Yukos effected the final $1.25 billion payment for shares representing 20% minus one share of Sibneft's authorized capital. The total cash consideration for the Sibneft shares was $3 billion.
On October 3, 2003, Yukos took ownership of 3 413 735 740 shares of Sibneft (equal to 72% plus 1 share of total authorized capital) in exchange for 702 397 159 shares (26.01%) of Yukos Oil Company.
As a result, Yukos has become the owner of 92% of Sibneft shares.
Both newly- and previously-issued stock of Yukos Oil Company was used for the purpose of the share exchange with Sibneft. The total number of newly issued shares was 463 524 307, including 6 481 placed as part of the pre-emptive right exercise and 463 517 826 shares placed under closed subscription among companies representing the principal shareholders of Sibneft. Following registration of a report with the Federal Commission on the Securities Market of the Russian Federation on the results of the new share issuance, there will be a total of 2 700 488 885 shares for the combined company.
On November 28, 2003, an extraordinary shareholders' meeting of Yukos Oil Company will consider amendments to Yukos' corporate Charter including the official name change to YukosSibneft Oil Company, as well as the election of a new Board of Directors and the approval of an interim dividend.
The revised draft of the Charter contemplates, among other things, the creation of a Management Board that will be responsible for the day- to-day operations of the company.
The proposed changes also cover internal policies & procedures, the number of Directors and the authorities of the Board of Directors.

...MORE http://www.moscowtimes.ru/doc/HotNews.html#45092

[Dover]

2. Investigators seize documents and equipment in Yukos facility

Investigators seize documents and equipment in YUKOS-owned facility

RosBusinessConsulting. Friday, Oct. 3, 2003, 3:35 PM Moscow Time

Searches conducted by representatives of the Russian General Prosecutor's Office in an orphanage owned by YUKOS resulted in seizing a computer server, according to the YUKOS PR department. In addition, some documents including layouts of the orphanage's building were seized. The searches are now completed. According to Olga Sopova, a YUKOS lawyer, they were not acquainted with the search warrant. As sources in the PR department of the General Prosecutor's Office reported to RBC earlier, the searches were made under a criminal case in relation to embezzlement and tax evasion by YUKOS-controlled divisions....>>

MORE >> http://www.moscowtimes.ru/doc/HotNews.html#45092

[emad]

3. Hope that Roman Abramovich has a damned good lawyer....

his flamboyant doshing up of the Chelsea Football Club looks like coming unstuck now...

[Dookus]

4. Locking...

please include the link in the original post.

Please do NOT violate DU copyright rules by splitting the article into multiple posts.

please feel free to repost following the LBN guidelines. Thanks!

-Dookus
DU Moderator