 |  Vedemosti Viktor Vekselberg |
| |
CES spokeswoman Olga Kiselyova said the company will manage energy assets owned by Vekselberg personally and by investment company Renova, in which Vekselberg owns a stake, and is interested not only in cheap power generation, but also heat, power distribution and utilities.
"This is unique," Zenit Bank analyst Sergei Suverov said. "A well-known business leader not only officially announced an interest in power, but emphasized that the sector itself interests him, not only for the chance to buy cheap energy to use for industrial production."
He said Vekselberg was probably looking for a good way to invest the money he earned from selling stakes in SUAL and the Tyumen Oil Co., or TNK.
Vekselberg was one of the beneficiaries of the $6.75 billion deal struck last month between BP and TNK, and of the multimillion-dollar partnership deal struck between SUAL and London-based Fleming Family & Partners in January.
However, some analysts suggested the new company is unlikely to work autonomously from SUAL and TNK.
Aton analyst Alexander Korneyev noted that SUAL operates aluminum smelters in six regions where CES has invested.
The energy-intense aluminum industry benefits strongly from cheap domestic power.
CES now manages a 10 percent stake in Irkutskenergo, owned by Vekselberg through affiliated organizations since 2000. It also holds significant, but unspecified, stakes in the Pechora hydroelectric plant and the local energos in Perm, Rostov-on-Don, Sverdlov, and the Komi republic. CES employees have been nominated to the boards of these five companies.
The number of shares held by CES "varies and may change before the next shareholders meeting," a source close to SUAL said.
CES's stakes in Rostovenergo, Permenergo and Komienergo are already large enough to influence decision making, the source added.
But the stake in Sverdlovenergo is "insufficient," to wield full control, he said.
Oleg Fyodorov, an executive with the Investor Protection Association, estimated that Vekselberg now holds blocking stakes in the Rostov and Perm energos.
Fyodorov, who also sits on Sverdlovenergo's board of directors, estimated CES's stake in that firm at about 10 percent.
The SUAL source termed CES's stake in the Pechora hydroelectric plant "a chance investment."
The energos themselves said they could only guess about their new owners.
Only Sverdlovenergo said the new investors had come to meet with company management.
Management at Komienergo and Permenergo said they had not known for sure whether their new shareholders were LUKoil or SUAL even after new board candidates were nominated.
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
Remind me later.