TNK and Yukos make peace

The peaceful ending of the conflict of two Russian oil companies TNK and Yukos about the Rospan gas producer revives the hope that corporate wars in the oil industry of Russia are coming to an end. Currently, companies prefer to settle arguments in a civilized way because the conformance with the world standards of business conduct and good business reputation is appreciated.

The struggle between Yukos and the Tyumen Oil Company (TNK) for Rospan ended in TNK's buying a 44-percent stake of the gas company from Yukos. Thus TNK, a former creditor of the company interested in Rospan's bankruptcy, turned into its co-owner striving for the opposite. In its turn, Yukos discharged all its liabilities of Itera, the former Rospan owner, to TNK repaying all the debts of the company. As Yukos representatives stated, this step of the company correspond to "the international principles of corporate governance strictly followed by Yukos". The interest of the two Russian oil giants Yukos and TNK in the Rospan gas company is not only about entering the gas business. Rospan is the owner of unique technologies of gas extraction and licenses for the development of Novo-Urengoiskoye and Vostochno-Urengoiskoye deposits totaling to 560bn cubic meters.

In the confrontation, Yukos and TNK demonstrated two opposite approaches to acquiring new assets. TNK was using the opportunities of the existing law on bankruptcy. TNK bought Rospan's debts and filed a case for adjudicating into bankruptcy. And Yukos bought all Rospan stocks from Itera, its former owner, and paid all the debts of the company. On May 8, Yukos, a new Rospan owner, sold 44 percent of the company to the TNK for $44m, thus ending the conflict, Nezavisimaya Gazeta reported.

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