PRESS: T Plus value seen at 45 bln rbl pre-merger, Renova objects

MOSCOW, Mar 26 (PRIME) -- Assets of Russian power producer T Plus and Gazprom Energoholding were valued at 40–45 billion rubles and 360 billion rubles ahead of an upcoming merger, but Renova Group sees T Plus value at no less than 100 billion rubles, Kommersant business daily reported on Tuesday citing sources.

Renova’s and Gazprom’s stakes in the joint venture will be proportional to the value of assets -- Renova could get 11%, but it disagrees, the sources told Kommersant.

Another source said that Renova should get at least 25% plus one share in the merged company, if it contributes other companies to the deal, like Ural Turbine Works or solar power company Hevel Group. There also is a possibility that Gazprom Energoholding will buy the T Plus stake completely in 2022–2025, the business daily said.

Renova and its owner Viktor Vekselberg were blacklisted by the U.S. Treasury Department in April 2018, and Vekselberg’s companies had to reduce their stakes in subsidiaries – to 39.59% in T Plus from 57.1%, to 46% in Hevel Group from 51%, and to 49% in Ural Turbine Works from 80%, Kommersant said.

Renova wants guaranteed dividends of 7 billion rubles in 2019 and 15 billion rubles in 2020–2021 to contribute T Plus to the deal, a quarter of seats in the board of directors, a blocking vote, and the right to appoint a CEO.

Gazprom Energoholding aims to avoid sanction risks, and wants a bank to buy Renova’s stake in T Plus first to buy it in installments later.

All the problematic issues make predicting the date of the deal difficult. The Federal Antimonopoly Service is yet to approve it, and the companies have not even filed the requests to the service, the sources told Kommersant.

Gazprom Energoholding and Renova declined to comment.

In 2011, the companies tried to work out a similar deal with Gazprom Energoholding having a controlling stake after the merger and Renova having a blocking stake, but the antimonopoly watchdog blocked the arragement.

(64.493 rubles – U.S. $1)

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