A consortium led by US businessman Todd Boehly is preparing a securities swap to acquire the foreign assets of Russian oil company Lukoil. Reuters reported, citing sources, that the deal is expected to be concluded within weeks.
According to those sources, an unnamed bank acting for the consortium has bought frozen Lukoil securities from Western investors so they can later be exchanged for the company’s foreign assets.
On 21 October the US Treasury Department extended until 21 November a licence exempting negotiations over the sale of Lukoil’s foreign assets from US sanctions.
After Lukoil was placed on UK and US sanctions lists, the company announced plans to sell its international assets. In January it said it had reached an agreement with US investment firm Carlyle to sell Lukoil International GmbH, the unit that holds those assets. The deal excluded projects in Kazakhstan and was subject to conditions including approval from US authorities. Lukoil said at the time that the agreement was not exclusive and that it was continuing talks with other potential buyers. The agreement with Carlyle expired in late July.