By Scott Patterson and Andrey Ostroukh
MOSCOW--Swiss mining giant Glencore PLC (GLNCY) is negotiating a
deal to restructure its stake in RussNeft, one of Russia's 10
biggest oil companies, according to a person familiar with the
deal.
Glencore plans to convert assets it has in subsidiaries of
Russneft into a 49% stake in the Russian firm's holding company,
the person said. No cash will change hands in the deal, which
remains subject to approval from the Russian authorities, the
person said.
RussNeft's owner, Mikhail Gutseriyev, said on Wednesday in an
interview with state TV Rossiya24 that he will retain ownership of
51% of RussNeft shares, while Glencore will own the remaining
stake.
Mr. Gutseriyev said the two companies are in process of signing
the deal and are at present waiting for approval from Russia's
Federal Anti-Monopoly Service. Mr. Gutseriyev didn't disclose the
value of the transaction.
Since Russneft was founded in 2002, Glencore has been one of its
key creditors, funding some of the Russian company's expansion
efforts.
Write to Scott Patterson at scott.patterson@wsj.com and Andrey
Ostroukh at andrey.ostroukh@wsj.com
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