Russian government completes Bashneft's sale to Rosneft
The discussion of the privatisation deal started in January, but in August the process was suspended to be continued after the parliamentary elections. Then the government's stake in the regional oil company was finally sold to another state-controlled company. Vladimir Putin called this privatisation 'carefully crafted, keeping in mind the synergy effect for obtaining the maximal gain from the point of view of budget and fiscal interests'.
Reuters consideres the Bashneft's sale is a key step in the governmental privatisation programme. The deal was approved by Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Monday and completed this Thursday. Russian government's 50.08% stake in Bashneft has been sold to Rosneft, the major Russian oil producer, which is also state-controlled. Rosneft paid 329.609bn rubles ($5.30bn) to beat a second bidder, which is unnamed. Rosneft's CEO Igor Sechin said that the purchase of Bashneft would provide a synergy effect for the company.
Bashneft's sale was first announced at the beginning of 2016, but in August the deal was postponed by the government (according to Reuters, it was made to calm rivalry among powerful groups before September parliamentary elections). The talks resumed in September when Rosneft was officially allowed to take part in the privatisation process. Earlier, Russian government officials opposed the possibility of Rosneft's participation, saying that one state-controlled company buying another could hardly be called a proper privatisation.
The company used its own funds for the purchase, said Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday at the Russia Calling! VTB Capital Investment Forum. He stressed that the deal should give an impulse to Russia's privatisation drive: 'The main thing is that we don't stop the privatisation process on this.' Putin also said that a 19.5% stake in Rosneft can now be sold to private foreign investors. Earlier sources claimed that Rosneft is considering buying its own shares from the state. The amount of the deal is estimated at 700bn rubles.
However, western analysts doubt that Russian president is ready for a full-scale privatisation, states CNBC. 'I think the signal was he kind of knows that this isn't real privatisation,' Christopher Granville, managing director at Trusted Sources, told CNBC in a TV interview on Thursday. 'In fact, I personally do not believe he is ready to privatise outright majority controlling stakes in large companies to the private sector, but I think he meant small minority stakes which are interesting to the equity market.'
Bashneft is considered to be the fastest growing oil company in Russia. It produces around 400.000 barrels per day and possesses numerous refining assets. 25% of the firm belongs to the Republic of Bashkortostan. Rosneft's vice president Andrey Shishkin has been appointed as company's new chief executive, Bashneft said on Thursday.