Translated material
Not enough
Yukos was valued at at least $22 billion
YUKOS appraisers did not manage to fully complete the work within the allotted three-month period, which ended on January 19, Nikolai Lashkevich, press secretary of the company's bankruptcy administrator Eduard Rebgun, said last Friday. According to preliminary data, the total market price of the company's assets exceeds $22 billion (or 588 billion rubles). Such figures were announced after Mr. Rebgun’s meeting with the head of the consortium of appraisal companies (it includes Roseco, ENPI Consult, Russian Assessment, Co-Invest, Binom) Evgeniy Neiman. This amount is higher than what was stated by Mr. Rebgun at the court hearing on the bankruptcy of the holding on August 1 - 477 billion rubles. However, it does not fully cover YUKOS's debt, which, according to data at the beginning of this year, reaches almost 706 billion rubles. Of these, the largest debt is to the Federal Tax Service (392 billion rubles), the state company Rosneft and its subsidiary Yuganskneftegaz (263.7 billion rubles). As you know, Rosneft has agreed to attract a loan to purchase YUKOS assets in the amount of $24.5 billion. Judging by the data published last Friday, this money can buy the entire YUKOS.However, a source familiar with the valuation notes that the real price is significantly higher than the figure mentioned in the press release. “This value of $22 billion is undeniable in court, so it is taken as a basis, but in reality it will be significantly higher,” he told Vremya Novostei, without, however, naming the real value of the company.
The final results of the audit of Russian assets, according to the newspaper's source, are expected in two weeks. After this, the bankruptcy trustee must prepare and submit a report to the creditors’ committee, which will contain the final assessment of the company’s value, the conditions for the sale of assets, the procedure for organizing auctions and starting prices. “At this meeting of creditors, the question will be decided at what price to put the assets up for sale: market price or liquidation price,” notes the source. Previously, Mr. Neumann stated that the liquidation price involves applying a 5-30% discount to the market, depending on the demand for the asset in the market. “If this is a sought-after asset quoted on the market, then the discount is unlikely to exceed 5-10%, if the company is not quoted and the market interest in it is not very large, then a 10-15 percent discount will be applied, but junk companies themselves those in the pre-bankruptcy stage can go with a discount of up to 30%,” the source explained yesterday.
The most sought-after assets in YUKOS's treasury include 9.44% of Rosneft shares and 20% of Gazprom Neft shares, the price of which is most likely calculated at a discount of 5-10%. The assessment was carried out as of October 1 last year, and based on the capitalization of Rosneft on the RTS as of this date, the stake in its shares owned by YUKOS could be worth $6.1-6.5 billion, and the stake in Gazprom Neft - - 3.12--3.29 billion dollars. The largest discount can most likely be applied to the East Siberian Oil and Gas Company, which was threatened with the revocation of its license for the Yurubcheno-Takhomskoye field last fall.
As stated in Mr. Lashkevich's message, as of January 19, 180 out of 190 enterprises were assessed either wholly or partially owned by YUKOS. At the same time, out of 10 unaccounted assets, six are residents of Russia, and YUKOS owns insignificant stakes in them, and four are non-residents. As noted in the press release, their cost could not be calculated “due to the refusal (of the management of these “subsidiaries” - Ed. ) to provide information.” It is not yet known how these assets will be valued. According to the source, Mr. Rebgun's lawyers are now dealing with this issue. “The appraisers sent written inquiries to these companies but did not receive responses, so now the lawyers are dealing with the questions written to the appraisers. It is impossible to say how long this will take,” the source noted.
Mr. Lashkevich explained that we are talking about the management of Yukos Finance, YUKOS CIS Investment and Yukos International. On the balance sheet of the first, in particular, there is a 49% stake in the Slovak pipeline company Transpetrol, for which they had previously offered $120 million. On December 15, Yukos International sold 53.7% of the shares of the Lithuanian oil concern Mazeikiu Nafta for $1.492 billion. Yesterday, Mr. Lashkevich was unable report whether this money was received by YUKOS creditors. “This issue is now being clarified,” he explained.
It is quite possible that as a result of the auctions for the sale of YUKOS property, the debt to all creditors will be fully repaid. In this case, as Mr. Rebgun previously said, the remaining funds will be distributed to the company's shareholders. However, he himself always doubted this outcome. And the organizers of the YUKOS case are unlikely to be interested in structures affiliated with Group MENATEP receiving money from the bankruptcy of what was once the largest oil company in Russia.
Moreover, Rosneft is not interested in high prices during auctions, since it is the main contender for Yukos's processing and production assets. And since its representatives are included in the committee of creditors, they can influence the determination of the starting price and conditions for participation in the auction.