Renova Group controlled by Russian tycoon Viktor Vekselberg will get at least 25 percent plus one share in Gazprom's electric power business after the companies merge their electricity assets under a letter of intent signed by Renova and Gazprom on Thursday.
Under the deal, the companies will merge their electricity assets in Gazprom's power subsidiary, Gazprom Energoholding, which will eventually be restructured and could place its shares on the stock market. Gazprom will hold no more than 75 percent minus one share in the undertaking.
Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller said that the new power company would join the group of the world's leading electric power firms and would hold a 25-percent share on the Russian electricity market.
The partners are expected to finalize the list of assets and the size of stakes in the new company in a shareholders' agreement and get an approval from Russia's Federal Anti-Monopoly Service (FAS), the companies said in a statement.
FAS head Igor Artemyev said on Thursday, however, that the merger of Gazprom's and Renova's power assets was undesirable from the viewpoint of anti-trust legislation and the competition watchdog would try to structure the deal to exclude Gazprom's controlling stake in the new power company.
