Rosneft Unit Bought Yukos Assets

A former unit of Russian oil company Rosneft yesterday paid $305m for assets owned by bankrupt Russian oil giant Yukos in a sale the latter said was tantamount to buying the "emperor's new clothes".

The assets include Yukos's Dutch subsidiary Yukos Finance BV, which holds a 49 per cent stake in Slovak pipeline operator Transpetrol and $1.5bn in cash proceeds from the sale of Yukos's controlling stake in Lithuanian refinery Mazheikiu Nafta.

Rosneft said it had not taken part in the sale, adding only that Promneftstroi had been on its books until June 30.

But analysts said they were sure Promneftstroi was acting on behalf of Rosneft.

"It's fairly clear that they managed to secure these assets. But they don't want to confirm that until the legal risks are resolved," said Chris Weafer, chief strategist at Alfa Bank.