Move over Gulf Keystone; there’s a new wannabe supermajor in town.
It’s a small Australian exploration and development company called Linc Energy – tagline ‘Fueling our Future’ – and according to some hysterical media reports down under it’s found oil worth $20 trillion. Read more
It’s less than a month until the quarterly reshuffle of the FTSE indices. And based on current market prices, a couple of Russian miners — one of them controlled by Chelsea boss Roman Abramovich — and an Irish building materials group could all be joining the FTSE 100.
A transcript of a secretly taped conversation between Boris Berezovsky, and Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich in a Paris airport could spell bad news for tycoon Oleg Deripaska, who is facing a U.K. lawsuit over his ownership position in Russian aluminium company Rusal. The Wall Street Journal reports that the transcript seems to identify a connection between him and Michael Cherney—the Uzbekistan-born businessman suing Deripaska for about £2.5bn for allegedly cheating him out of a stake in the company. Deripaska denies that he and Cherney were ever partners or that he has outstanding debts to him. The transcript has emerged as part of evidence in another High Court tussle, this time between Berezovsky and Abramovich. It reflects a conversation between the two in a private lounge at Le Bourget airport in December 2000, which was taped by Badri Patarkatsishvili, a close friend and business partner of Berezovsky who died in 2008. Read more
So, from Irish subordinates to Russian billionaires.
Millhouse LLC, Roman Abramovich’s private asset management company, is not happy with the bank bail-out plan released last week by the Irish Finance Ministry. Read more
Roman Abramovich, Russia’s richest man, agreed on Tuesday to take a 40% stake in Highland Gold, the ailing gold miner listed on London’s Aim market, signalling a new focus on the gold industry. Mr Abramovich is making the investment of up to $400m through his Millhouse investment vehicle. The FT’s Charles Pretzlik notes that because Highland Gold is registered in Jersey, Millhouse is able to disregard normal London rules on pre-emption rights and mandatory offers; while Lombard warns that this doesn’t mean Highland need not worry about what its independent shareholders think. Read more background on the deal here. Shares in Highland Gold rose 8% to 177p on Tuesday, their highest level since May. Read more
Pre-emption rights? Eh? Mandatory bid? Come off it. READ THE STATEMENT:
Although Highland Gold has its registered office in Jersey, the Panel has previously confirmed that Highland Gold is not subject to the Takeover Code and shareholders will not be afforded any protections under the Takeover Code. It is not expected that this position will change as a result of this transaction. Read more
Roman Abramovich, London’s most high profile Russian oligarch and owner of Chelsea football club, has transferred the ownership of some of his £60m property portfolio in London and Sussex from offshore companies into his own name, triggering speculation about the reasons for the change, reports the Daily Telegraph.
Suggestions that he has transferred the ownership of his properties in order to apply for British citizenship are “wrong”, says the Telegraph, “because he has just signed up for a new five-year term as governor of Chukotka and foreign nationality is a bar to being a governor in Russia”. Read more
Just the tonic. After Michael Essien last night stormed back from injury to deliver a 91st minute blow to Valencia and put Chelsea through to the Champions League semis, his boss is already onto the next project.
Pharmstandard, the generic drugmaker co-owned by billionaire Roman Abramovich, on Wednesday said it would launch an offering of GDRs in London, by the end of June this year. The company is already traded on the RTS and will also seek a listing on the Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange. Read more
