Transneft is in talks to buy an office block for almost $1 billion near the skyscrapers of Moscow City, west of the capital's center, two sources close to the companies and one close to the negotiations said this week.
The oil pipeline monopoly is in advanced negotiations on buying the 196,000 square meter building in the burgeoning financial district next to the Mirax Plaza towers, they said.
The property belongs to companies owned by the head of construction firm Stroygazconsulting Ziyad Manasir and businessman Dmitry Lutsenko, a former part-owner of Mirax, a now-bankrupt developer known for luxury housing.
"Transneft has shown interest in the project," Lutsenko said, declining to comment further.
Transneft representative Igor Demin said the company would benefit from centralizing its scattered offices in the capital.