Igor Yusufov, a former energy minister and until recently the president's special envoy for energy cooperation, is keen to buy a blocking stake in Domodedovo Airport for about $1 billion, Vedomosti quoted sources as saying Monday.
Those sources said Yusufov was talking to Valery Kogan, chairman of Domodedovo's supervisory board, about buying shares.
A source close to Yusufov said Kogan was "prepared to resolve the problems between the airport's management and the authorities." The funding sources for the deal were not named, but it was mentioned that Yusufov is in talks with banks as well. The newspaper did not say whether Yusufov's interest had anything to do with the initial public offering Domodedovo is planning on the London Stock Exchange in June. IPO organizers value Domodedovo at $3.5 billion to $7.5 billion. Dmitry Kamenschik's DME holding has been named as the sole shareholder in the airport, although the market had thought he owned Domodedovo with Kogan.
Yusufov's son Vitaly has also represented the Yusufov family in business. A few years ago, he became chairman of the Moscow office of Nord Stream, the operating company for the gas pipeline between Russia and Germany, and in 2009 he bought the bankrupt Wadan Yards shipyards for 40 million euros. Last year it was revealed that he is the main shareholder in Osnova Telecom, in which the Defense Ministry owns a blocking stake, and this year he bought about 20 percent of Bank of Moscow from its ex-president Andrei Borodin.
