Shake-up for management

Directors of RAO UES returned to “stagnant” issues

The Board of Directors of RAO UES of Russia, at its first meeting of the new year, intends to move forward with the discussion of a number of problems for which the board cannot find an acceptable solution. We are talking about how to sell a blocking stake in Wholesale Generating Company No. 5 (OGK-5) to a strategic investor - in favor of Gazprom or at an open auction; how to change the status and composition of the investment commission under the board of directors, currently headed by Mikhail Abyzov; what to do with the shares (60%) of Inter RAO UES (export-import operator) - sell, consolidate or something else, and with the shares of Russian Utility Systems (25%); as well as the feasibility of selling repair and service regional enterprises. Almost all of these issues have a long and often scandalous history, and the positions of top management and the state on this issue, as a rule, differ. So, at the meeting on January 26, it is unlikely that a compromise will be found, although, obviously, the board will receive an impetus to find one.

The press service of RAO refused to comment on the agenda of the meeting of the board of directors. According to Vremya Novostei's source on the board, a decision on the principles for the sale of OGK-5 is “still a long way off.” The energy holding plans to sell 25.03% of the shares after May 1 (before this date a moratorium was imposed on transactions with the company's securities owned by RAO, so as not to influence the price after the IPO), retaining 50% plus one share. According to some information, it was the gas concern that ensured that the board of directors of RAO, which agreed to the sale of a blocking stake in OGK-5 last year, wrote in the decision: “in favor of the strategic investor.” This phrase imposes serious restrictions on the composition of participants in a future auction, if it takes place. However, it is obvious that Anatoly Chubais and Gazprom still have many battles ahead before their positions on the sale of OGK-5 come closer.

Confrontation between Mr. Chubais and the Ministry of Economic Development is also expected on the issue of the fate of Inter RAO UES. Vremya Novostei's source in the government claims that the head of RAO proposes to hold an IPO of the export-import operator, and the head of the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, German Gref, proposes to include in this company a number of large assets owned by RAO, for example, shares of Power Machines. It is believed that there are enough potential buyers of Inter RAO UES shares - starting from Gazprom, Rosenergoatom (already owns 40% of the shares) and the structures of the chairman of the board of directors of Inter RAO, member of the board of RAO Andrei Rappoport, and ending with small energy sales and engineering companies. Consensus has not yet been reached, but until January 26, the issue of the fate of Inter RAO will be considered by the board of RAO, the rapporteur is Mr. Rappoport. It is the board meeting, our source suggests, that will bring clarity to this issue.

RAO still doesn’t know what to do with the shares of Russian Utility Systems. “The strategic goal is to exit the project in the black,” says a source on the board of directors of RAO. But when such an opportunity will present itself is unknown. After all, 75% of the project was accumulated from the structures of Viktor Vekselberg - Renova and Integrated Energy Systems. This means that finding a buyer willing to pay a lot of money for a 25 percent stake in RKS (even a non-blocking one) will be very difficult - after all, over the past years, large financial and industrial groups have just exited this project. The fact that this issue was brought to the meeting of directors of RAO indicates, the source says, that the energy holding must develop clear criteria for determining the future of this asset.

He believes that the directors of RAO will decide not to sell repair and service enterprises (with the exception of a few already prepared for sale). This issue has been discussed for more than a year; this business at RAO, according to some information, is supervised by board member Vladimir Avetisyan, but there is still no clear position on it. After all, it is very difficult to sell repair assets separately from core ones, since without the former the latter cannot exist, and the new owner of generation and networks will not always want repairs to be carried out by a company not under his control.

The issue of the investment commission - the most scandalous of the ones considered by the board of directors of RAO at the end of last year - will, apparently, be calm at the next meeting. As is known, Mr. Gref opposed Mikhail Abyzov, who has a controversial reputation, being appointed head of the commission. The head of the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade proposed to approve the former deputy chairman of Gazprom, Alexander Ryazanov, for this post, but this proposal was submitted in writing to the board of directors of RAO after the vote. As a result, at the last meeting of the council, it was decided to instruct the board to change the competence of the commission and propose a new composition. On January 26, as the source said, only part of the issue will be considered - about the competence of the commission. No solution has yet been found regarding staffing.

Nikolay GORELOV