Glencore, Qatari fund ink deal to buy 20 pct of Rosneft

Russian oil firm Rosneft has officially signed a deal to sell a 19.5% stake to Qatar Investment Authority, one of the world largest sovereign funds and Glencore, a commodities producer and trader.

The sale, of which Offshore Energy Today  wrote last week, will see the consortium pay 10.2 billion euros for the stake.

Under the proposed arrangements, Glencore will commit €300 million in equity and the Qatari fund will commit €2.5 billion in equity to the consortium. The remaining amount will be provided by the Italian bank Intesa Sanpaolo S.pA., with Russian banks also providing financing and credit support.

Commenting on the signing of the transaction Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin said: “We welcome Qatar Investment Authority and Glencore in joining Rosneft as its new shareholders, these are true strategic investors.”

Rosneft Board of Directors has also approved a strategic cooperation agreement with Qatar Investment Authority and Glencore, providing for further cooperation in upstream projects, logistics and global trading.

Sechind said: “I am certain that our collaborative work, including potential further investments in joint projects will create additional synergies for all of Rosneft shareholders.”

Sheikh Abdulla bin Mohammed bin Saud Al-Thani, Qatar Investment Authority CEO said the investment reflected QIA’s strategy of investing in “high quality assets with strategic partners globally to generate long-term financial returns.”

He said the move also demonstrated the fund’s commitment to diversifying portfolio across “geographies, sectors and asset classes.”

Glencore CEO Ivan Glasenberg said: “We are delighted that the strong relationships that already exist between Rosneft, QIA and Glencore have enabled us to successfully enter into this transaction. Glencore looks forward to working with both parties to take advantage of the significant opportunities which are expected to be presented across the Russian and global oil markets.”

The transaction is expected to be completed by December 15, 2016 subject to fulfillment of relevant closing conditions.