Civilized spliitting of RussNeft

Mikhail Gutseriev managed to regain control over RussNeft. AFK  Sistema will sell its 49%   interest in the oil company for $ 1.2 billion to the structures close to the businessman. The parties also agreed that  Bashneft, subordinated to Sistema,  will have the option to buy shares in the Urals assets of RussNeft.  Mr. Gutseriev called the achieved agreements  “civilized  splitting".
On Friday the details of the transaction on the exit of  AFK Sistema  from  RussNeft  were published  (see "Kommersant" June, 21). The corporation announced that it will sell its 49% interest in  the oil company for $ 1.2 billion to structures close to the founder of RussNeft Mikhail Gutseriev (who also is the holder of 49%). Bradinor Holdings Ltd owned by Mikhail Shishkhanov (nephew of Mr. Gutseriev and principal owner  of Binbank) is going to buy 25%, and Cromeld Management Ltd  owned by Felix Dlin (Chairman of the Board of Directors of Orenburg oil plant, a subsidiary of RussNeft) is buying 24%.  According to Sistema’s report, the corporation in this case received the right to purchase shares in the eight producing companies of RussNeft in the Urals.
AFK System became a shareholder of "RussNeft" in 2010.  At the time Mikhail Gutseriev, who returned to Russia  having resolved his tax payment problems with law bodies,  bought the company   back from Oleg Deripaska. After that, AFK Sistema received 49% of its shares for $ 100 million and Sberbank  got the remaining 2%.   

The owner of AFK Vladimir Yevtushenko said in  his interview to "Kommersant" that it was "is not a commercial interest,  but the human one”  that prompted  him to make that deal.
RussNeft  was  founded by Mikhail Gutseriev in 2002. It ranks tenth in Russian oil production (13.9 million tons in 2012). Net income of the Company under IFRS in 2012  made  $ 414 million and  the proceeds  amounted to $ 5.38 billion
Although during the past three years preparations were made to the  merger of  RussNeft and Bashneft, subordinated to AFK Sistema,  Mikhail Gutseriev, according to “Kommersant”’s sources, close to the parties in the transaction, has long wanted to remain the sole owner. In the recent months, Bashneft continued to discuss the schemes of the merger, says one of the “Kommersant”’s interlocutors.  According to him, the decision to sell AFK’s share  was taken only a few weeks ago. Mikhail Gutseriev called the deal a "civilized splitting".
The Urals assets  of RussNeft account for 45% of its production. The largest of assets  is Belkamneft (48 oil fields in Udmurtia, Bashkiria and the Kirov region), which in 2012 produced 4.26 million tons of oil. Bashneft  owns 38.46% in "Belkamneft." Vitaly Kryukov of "IFD Kapital" believes that the interest of  Sistema to the assets of the Urals group of RussNeft results from  the company's desire to "maintain a balance between production and processing at  Bashneft " (the company is now  refining more oil than it is producing).  A source of “Kommersant”’s, close to one of the parties, believes, however, that Bashneft is unlikely to take advantage of the  option,  for  Mikhail Gutseriev may offer the terms not too favorable  The corporation notes that "the decision on the possible exercise of the option will be made on the basis of  operation feasibility,  the results of financial and legal due diligence and approval by  the management bodies of the parties in the transaction and the regulator, the authority to purchase may be implemented within three months”.