Yukos overseas assets are sold to little-known company for $307 mln

A company earlier believed to be affiliated with Russian state-owned crude producer Rosneft bought overseas assets of bankrupt oil company Yukos for 7.8 billion rubles ($307 million) at an auction Wednesday.

The auction was won by Promneftstroi, which competed for the Yukos assets along with Versar, another little-known company that previously made unsuccessful bids at Yukos sell-offs, through which the company`s remaining assets are being liquidated to meet creditors` claims.

Rosneft has so far been the ultimate buyer of all main Yukos assets sold at liquidation auctions, many of which have featured previously unknown bidders, making it a leading Russian oil producer.

At Wednesday`s auction, the starting price for Netherlands-based Yukos Finance, the owner of the bankrupt firm`s overseas assets, was set at 7.6 billion rubles (about $298 million), with bid increments of 40 million rubles (about $1.6 million), according to auction organizers.

After the auction, Rosneft denied that Promneftstroi was in any way affiliated with the company. "Rosneft did not participate in this auction," a company spokesman said.

Monte Valle, which won the fourth auction held on April 17 for the Yukos energy assets in the Tambov and Belgorod Regions in central and southwest Russia by offering 3.56 billion rubles (about $140 million) for the lot, up from the starting price of 2.64 billion rubles (about $102.2 million), said it purchased Promneftstroi from Rosneft recently for participation in the trading. Monte Valle`s ownership structure has not been disclosed.

Yukos Finance holds a 49% stake in Slovakian pipeline operator Transpetrol.

Yukos, once Russia`s largest oil company, was declared bankrupt August 1, 2006, after three years of litigation with tax authorities over arrears. Its founder, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, is serving an eight-year prison sentence in Siberia for fraud and tax evasion.

sections: Economics