YUKOS Denies Exxon Deal Looming [View All]

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YUKOS Denies Exxon Deal Looming

Fri October 3, 2003 03:53 AM ET
By Melissa Akin

MOSCOW (Reuters) - YUKOS and Sibneft were set to seal a $45 billion merger Friday to create Russia's biggest oil firm and open the way to foreign capital, but YUKOS denied it has already struck a deal with world No. 1 Exxon Mobil.

YUKOS CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky fell short of denying long-term prospects of such a mega-deal involving the new $45 billion Russian oil giant as he shared a conference platform with his counterpart from the U.S. giant, Lee Raymond.

"There is no deal, but when there is a deal we will make you happy by telling you," Khodorkovsky told reporters on the sidelines of a major economic forum in Moscow.

"We welcome foreign investment. It lowers the cost of capital and raises the value of our assets, but you can't apply the word 'necessary' to it," he said.

Raymond has not commented on the speculation.

The Exxon Mobil chief's presence at the forum alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin had fueled talk the U.S. major would consolidate its world number one status by buying a stake, possibly as much as 50 percent, in the newly born Russian giant.

A London source familiar with the YUKOS-Sibneft deal said: "Exxon Mobil are in the driving seat if they want to be... It's down to whether they have the guts and the brains."

However, completion of the YUKOS-Sibneft merger, effectively a $15 billion takeover of smaller Sibneft, is seen as the prerequisite to any foreign involvement...>> MORE