Rosneft bought Bashneft

Rosneft bought Bashneft. The deal to sell the state stake of one company to another state-owned company has been completed, TASS reports with reference to the head of the Ministry of Economic Development Alexey Ulyukaev. As part of the deal, Rosneft received a little more than half of Bashneft.

• The state gained control of Bashneft after Vladimir Yevtushenkov, the owner of AFK Sistema, which owned the oil company, was arrested in 2014. When the shares became state property, Yevtushenkov was released .
• The state decided to sell the stake to Bashneft to replenish the deficit budget. Initially, it was prepared for sale at auction. Lukoil, which was considered the favorite , and other private companies were ready to participate in them.
• As it turned out, Rosneft, whose controlling stake belongs to the state, also decided to take part in privatization. At first the government did not want to sell the state stake of one company to another, but then they gave in and decided to sell Bashneft without bidding.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin explained on October 12 that formally Rosneft is not a state company, since its shares are not directly owned by the state. In addition, according to him, she offered the highest price of 330 billion rubles (although there was no bidding). Putin also noted that the purchase of Bashneft will increase the price of shares of Rosneft itself, which the state also wants to sell.
• The government is going to sell 19.5 percent of Rosneft shares to gain about 700 billion rubles. Rosneft is ready to buy its own shares from the state.