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Russia: Sberbank opposes a plan by billionaire Mikhail Gutseriyev to merge his oil assets

By  |  April 5, 2018

Russia’s top state lender Sberbank opposes a plan by billionaire Mikhail Gutseriyev to merge his oil assets into one firm and replace co-owner Glencore because of concerns about his energy companies’ heavy debts, sources told Reuters.

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    Gutseriyev, who has built his oil wealth with the help of Glencore over the past 15 years, had to endure a painful debt restructuring that left his energy empire split into two parts.

    The magnate now wants to merge the firms, Russneft and Neftisa—both of which are heavily indebted to VTB, Russia’s number 2 bank, and Sberbank. It was not yet clear why such an integration would be needed, although one source said a larger, merged company would be able to borrow more.

    “Gutseriyev is looking for another partner to replace it (Glencore), telling creditors that the Chinese will be there soon,” one of the sources familiar with the idea said.

    Full Content: Reuters

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