Ukrainian authorities have decided to sell up to 25% in state-run oil and gas company Naftogaz, Energy Minister Yuriy Boyko said.
Last week Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych said he did not rule out partial privatization of Naftogaz to optimize its operation. Naftogaz CEO Yevhen Bakulin said in early March the company could hold an IPO in 2012-2013.
"We have made the major decision to sell up to 25% of Naftogaz stock," Boyko said on Ukrainian TV channel Inter late Friday.
"The project is very large-scale, and I don't think we will finish it by the yearend. But it is real [to do so] by the middle of next year," he said.
Boyko said the authorities plan to receive at least $5-6 billion for the stake in Naftogaz.
Naftogaz transits 80% of Russian natural gas to Europe and buys certain amounts from Russian energy giant Gazprom to resell in Ukraine.
Boyko also rejected the assumption that Gazprom could buy the stake at the exchange to incorporate the Ukrainian company. "This is impossible," the minister said.
Gazprom has pushed for a merger with Naftogaz since 2009, but in 2010 Ukrainian lawmakers rejected the Russian proposal.
KIEV, April 2 (RIA Novosti)
