YUKOS reaches agreement with RAO UES on participation in energy industry reforms

RAO UES Executive Board Chairman Anatoly Chubais and YUKOS Executive Board Chairman Mikhail Khodorkovsky has signed a memorandum on mutual understanding, defining principles of participation of YUKOS in reforms in Russia's energy industry. This information was reported in a joint statement issued by RAO UES and YUKOS. The companies plan to cooperate in development of investment projects for Russia's power utilities.

As Chubais declared, YUKOS' participation in reforms in regional power utilities would be based on the main principles determined by the RAO UES Board of Directors. At the same time Chubais underlined that during the restructuring, the holding company intended to defend interests of all shareholders, including both RAO UES and its affiliates.

Khodorkovsky said that in accordance with YUKOS' development strategy, the company intended to become a full-fledged energy company, having leading positions not only on the oil and gas markets, but also on the electrical power market. YUKOS will also support RAO UES' proposals on participation of the Tomskenergo, Kubanenergo, Tambovenergo and Belgorodenergo power utilities in interregional power line companies and their reorganization by means of separation of specialized companies with proportional distribution of shares between shareholders in a respective joint-stock company.

If these plans are approved by the Board of Directors, RAO UES and YUKOS intend to jointly offer blocks of shares in generating and sales companies created during the restructuring of Tomskenergo, which will belong to RAO UES (at least 24% of voting shares) and YUKOS (at least 25% of voting shares), at an auction not later than 4 months after a general meeting of shareholders in Tomskenergo, whose agenda will include questions of the company's reorganization. The initial price of the shares will be set on the basis of a report by an independent international appraiser, selected from at least three internationally recognized companies. The appraisal of assets and blocks of shares will be conducted in accordance with a methodology suggested by the Committee on Appraisal of the RAO UES Board of Directors.

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