Gazprom not to buy stake in Lietuvos dujos

Gazprom has refused to bid for a 34-percent stake in the Lithuanian gas company Lietuvos dujos. A corresponding letter has been sent to Lithuanian Prime Minister Algirdas Brazauskas.

As reported earlier, Gazprom Deputy CEO Alexander Ryazanov visited Lithuania and met with Brazauskas at the end of January. Ryzanov claimed that they had agreed on every question, except the price for the stake.

According to preliminary non-audited data, in 2002 the net income of the Lithuanian enterprise increased by 3 times to $13.5m.

Gazprom, the only bidder for Lietuvos dujos, proposed to pay $25m for a 34-percent stake. This was about 70 percent of the sum paid by the consortium of E.ON Energie and Ruhrgas for the same amount of shares last June. At present the Lithuanian government owns a 58.36 percent block of shares in Lietuvos dujos.

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