Thursday, October 13, 2016

Landing Rosneft: what happens in the “Bashneft” after the change of ownership – RBC

Photo: Reuters/Pixstream

the next day after the purchase of “Bashneft”, “Rosneft” has replaced its President and began to appoint his people to key destinations. Integration of “Bashneft” has already happened “we fully control the situation,” said the head of “Rosneft” Igor Sechin.

Integrations in one day

Integration of “Bashneft”, the control package of which “Rosneft” has paid only the night before, “has already happened”, said to journalists on Thursday, 13 October, chief Executive officer of “Rosneft” Igor Sechin. “Bashneft” is a subsidiary of Rosneft, we fully control the situation,” he said (quoted by “Interfax”).

a few hours before the President “Bashneft” Alexander Korsik, who headed the company since 2011, has resigned, and his place was taken by Vice-President of “Rosneft” Andrei Shishkin, said the company. All Board seats also went to the managers of “Rosneft”. And on December 16 at a meeting of shareholders elected a new Board of Directors. Rosneft also decided to dismiss and the other managers of the company Vice presidents who were not in the Board, and managers of subsidiary companies, told RBC a source close to Bashneft. “We have appointed an entirely new Board. Of course, in key areas, too, people change,” — said the press-Secretary of “Rosneft” Mikhail Leontyev.

Managers of “Rosneft” appeared in the Moscow office of “Bashneft” before — around 20.00 GMT on Wednesday, October 12 (an hour and a half before a press-service “Rosneft” have informed that the company transferred to the budget 329,69 RUB bn for a controlling stake in the company), told RBC two sources close to the “Bashneft”. According to one of them, representatives of the new shareholder “lack of education”. And on Thursday they appeared in the offices of Bashneft in Moscow and Ufa in the morning and started demanding to provide documents, said another source in Bashneft and a friend of the employee. They demanded the documents, in the offices were disconnected, and the security and access control at the entrance strengthened, said one of the interlocutors RBC. “Internet disconnected, only work enterprise services,” confirmed a second source. In the Central office of “Bashneft” near metro station “Mayakovskaya” was indeed enhanced security — two security guards standing right at the entrance and two at the turnstiles, it was convinced the correspondent of RBC.

Sechin, answering questions of journalists, emphasized that “Rosneft” did not produce “any seizures of documents” in the offices of “Bashneft”. But he noted that “Rosneft” meets contract “Bashneft” in order to provide “continuity”. And Leontiev added that it is a “referral”: “Pretty quickly, but that’s okay.” He said that the office of Bashneft went, in particular, Vice-President of “Rosneft” for legal support of business Natalia Minchev, who joined the Board of the new “daughter”. “The new leadership must monitor the activities of the company, so you need to quickly transfer files, documents and so on, to prevent the leakage of information,” concluded Leontiev. Comment on disabling the Internet in the offices of “Bashneft” he refused.

“We were in TNK-BP. Synergy on Sechin” — ironically RBC former top Manager of TNK-BP, which Rosneft bought in 2013. Soon after this transaction, the company also almost completely changed the management of the enterprise. However, Leont’ev argues that a large number of employees of TNK-BP, including in key positions, retain their jobs.

Later, “RIA Novosti”, citing a source in the Bashkir office of “Bashneft” has informed that at night on October 13 at the company’s offices in Ufa, armed men entered, which the guards are unable to prevent. “As we understand, they suddenly appeared to prevent the destruction of any financial documents,” he said. But the source of “Interfax” in the “Bashneft” said that “any landing with armed men in the Ufa office of “Bashneft” the night before was not a tale”. “The possible turmoil associated with “Bashneft”, was caused by the fact that the procedure be attended by the employees of the security service of “Rosneft”, — he added.

In the oil industry at large takeovers, especially hostile or who had long prepared, periodically, there is a rapid transfer of management to the representatives of the new owner, as well as large-scale rotation of staff, says the Director of the Department of personnel Agency “yuniti” Rustam Barnehage. But this process usually takes a few days or even hours, and a few months, he said. He cited the example of the takeover of Yukos assets by structures “Rosneft” in 2005, when due to the difference in the system of corporate governance, many employees of Yukos resigned.

the companies Act provides for liability of the CEO and other top managers of the company with the right to sign for the damage its activities damage, recalls managing partner law office “Yushin and partners” Anatoly Yushin. The new owner when the documents of the suspected damage may have a claim to the arbitration court on specific managers, to recover damages from contracts at non-market prices, concluded with affiliated companies, the withdrawal of assets etc., he enumerates. However, Sechin told reporters on Thursday that he was grateful to former President “Bashneft” Alexander Corsica “for their assistance” in the transfer of control over the company.

the Representative of “Bashneft” declined to comment.

Minority shareholders not a priority

by Purchasing a controlling stake of “Bashneft”, “Rosneft” has no plans to buy out the share of Bashkortostan (25%), said Thursday Sechin. “At this stage we plan to focus on seizing control to all production processes, industrial safety and obligations to customers and suppliers was carried out,” — said Sechin (quoted by TASS). On specifying question, whether means it that “Rosneft” will not continue further acquisition of shares of “Bashneft”, he replied: “business at this stage is a priority for us”.

And to the question of the repayment of actions at minority shareholders of “Bashneft” the company will return later, Sechin said. Previously, the partner of legal Bureau “Padva and Epshtein” Pavel Gerasimov told RBC that the company should expose the offer to minority shareholders to owners of ordinary shares 35 days after buying a controlling stake. Specified in the offer price of the shares may not be lower than their weighted average cost for the last six months, he said.

the acquisition of TNK-BP completed in March 2013, the head of “Rosneft” also was in no hurry to buy back the shares of minority shareholders, and the question about the possibility of distribution of dividends replied: “the Question of dividends is not even worth it, it’s all our money”. As a result of dividends to the minority shareholders did not see, and their shares Rosneft acquired in late 2013 — early 2014 at a price below that which was expected, sellers.

LikeTweet

No comments:

Post a Comment