New YUKOS, Sibneft deal would return all stock to pre-merger owners

The YUKOS-Sibneft merger was completed in full in October. That claim was asserted at a press conference today by Yury Beilin, a member of the YUKOS management, a Rosbalt correspondent reported. Beilin said 92% of Sibneft stock now belongs to YUKOS.

Beilin said a new deal now in the works calls for the sale of Sibneft stock to an offshore company acting as an intermediary. 'The essence of the deal is a reverse exchange of stock between YUKOS and Sibneft and the return of the parties to the positions they held at the start of the merger process,' Beilin said. 'No papers have as yet been signed, but there is agreement on the conditions of the deal. The interests of all stockholders must be respected, including minority owners, and an independent board of directors will be created.'

The chairman of the YUKOS board, Simon Kukes, stressed that the leadership of the company 'does not connect its activities with political processes taking place in Russia.' 'The company's effectiveness is growing, despite the pretensions of the general prosecutor and the siloviki,' he said.