A special-purpose vehicle representing unknown Russian interests agreed to pay $9.34 billion for a controlling interest in Yuganskneftegaz (“Yugansk”), which formerly was Russian oil giant OAO Yukos‘ largest production asset. The interest purchased includes all of Yugansk’s voting shares.
Here are the earlier posts on the Yukos chapter 11 case and the related TRO.
OOO Baikal Finance Group made the winning bid at an auction that the Russian Federal Property Fund carried out despite a temporary restraining order that a U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Houston approved in Yukos’ chapter 11 case on Thursday. The TRO enjoined several Western financial institutions from participating in the financing of a bid in such auction.
The winning bid was far below what Yukos contends that its interest in Yugansk was worth. Yugansk constituted 60% of Yukos’s producing output at the time of the auction.
Nothing is known about Baikal, which registered for the auction on Friday after entry of the TRO. The initial speculation is that it is a Russian government controlled entity that relies on domestic Russian financing for its bid.