Rosneft files bid, complaint over ALROSA’s auction to antitrust

MOSCOW, Dec 29 (PRIME) -- Russian oil major Rosneft has filed a request to the Federal Antimonopoly Service to participate in an auction of uncut diamond mining giant ALROSA’s auction of natural gas assets, and submitted a complaint on the auction at the same time, Rosneft’s press secretary Mikhail Leontyev told PRIME on Friday.

“We filed the complaint to the service yesterday against conditions of the auction…Today we’ve filed a formal request for participation in the auction. I would like to point out that there is no contradiction in it, as we want to participate in the auction, and the bid has no obligations to agree with the conditions of the auction. This is only for approval of the service from the point of view of the antimonopoly policy which is a formality necessary to partake in the auction,” he said.

The matter of the complaint is the same as in complaints submitted earlier by the company to the Finance Ministry and the Federal State Property Management Agency, he said.

On Monday, ALROSA said it planned to hold the auction on February 19, 2018, and set the initial price at 30 billion rubles for a single lot comprising 100% in Maretiom Investments Limited and Velarion Investments Limited, which own 100% in Geotransgaz and in Urengoi Gas Company.

On Thursday, independent gas producer Novatek asked the antimonopoly service to clear the purchase of the two gas companies, while Rosneft asked the Finance Ministry and the Federal State Property Management Agency to change conditions of the auction as they violate competition legislation and create advantages for some possible contenders.

The company comprised a list of risk factors, including the lack of guarantees from ALROSA and a presence of offshore companies with a lack of history of their beneficiaries in the auction.

(57.6291 rubles – U.S. $1)

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