Russia 100414 Basic Political Developments

Moscow Times: Sanofi Cleared to Buy Insulin Plant

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/sanofi-cleared-to-buy-insulin-plant/403880.html
14 April 2010

By Anatoly Medetsky

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and the government’s foreign investment commission on Tuesday approved a deal to sell a private insulin plant to Europe’s biggest drug maker, France-based Sanofi-Aventis.

The commission for foreign investment in strategic industries, chaired by Putin, also backed Gunvor’s purchase of a stake in an offshore Caspian Sea oil field and several other transactions. But Putin singled out the planned French investment as particularly noteworthy.

“Among these, I want to point out one project that is not big but is significant, in my view,” he said, referring to Sanofi’s intention to buy 74 percent of the Bioton Vostok plant in Oryol.

Sanofi, the world’s third-largest drug maker by sales, wants to produce insulin-filled syringes at the facility, Putin said. The remaining shares will still be owned by Russian businessmen.

Federal Anti-Monopoly Service chief Igor Artemyev, who is in charge of previewing the investment plans, said the French firm would invest hundreds of millions of euros and provide state-of-the-art technology. Officials did not give any other figures about the deal.

The project, Putin said, is especially welcome in light of Russia’s stated efforts to become more self-sufficient in terms of medicine supply.

Gunvor Cyprus Holding Limited, a subsidiary of the Swiss oil trader Gunvor co-owned by Putin’s acquaintance Gennady Timchenko, secured a green light to buy 30 percent in a Swedish oil-producing unit PetroResurs, which is developing the Lagansky field off the Caspian Sea coast.

Swedish oil firm Lundin Petroleum agreed to sell the stake to Gunvor in September. The book value of the field, next to LUKoil’s major Korchagina deposit, is $850 million and potential reserves are more than 800 million barrels.

Lundin is going to invest $540 million in the field this year, 4 percent more than last year. The money will pay for the construction of a drilling rig that is scheduled to start operation in 2011.

In another deal that got the go-ahead, Tatneft Oil, a Swiss-registered subsidiary of the country’s No. 6 oil producer Tatneft, is buying an unspecified number of shares in Bank Zenit.

Tatneft already holds 24.6 percent in the bank.

In addition, the oil company owns 48.8 percent of the International Petrochemical Growth Fund, which has a 41.92 percent stake in the bank. A spokesman for Zenit, the country’s 27th-largest bank by assets, did not respond to an e-mailed request to comment Tuesday evening.

Billionaires Mikhail Prokhorov and Suleiman Kerimov also got approval to consolidate their assets in the gold miner Polyus Gold, Artemyev said. Their Kazakhstan-based company, KazakhGold Group, registered on the island Jersey, will buy a number of Polyus-related units, he said.

In an opening speech at the commission meeting, Putin ordered Artemyev to submit proposals to streamline foreign investment legislation as soon as possible. Artemyev said after the session that his agency would probably be ready to report in two weeks.

Abc.az: Run-up for market appearance of Russia’s Savings Bank and Gazprombank in Azerbaijan starts

http://abc.az/eng/news/main/44146.html

Baku, Fineko/abc.az. Russia’s biggest banks intend to appear at the banking market of Azerbaijan.

A relevant initiative group source says that preparation for their appearance in Azerbaijan is underway. Scheme and preliminary business plan of the appearance is being worked out.

“And a probability that Savings Bank and Gazprombank will be offered either to draw local partners or to acquire an equity stake in one of the existing credit institutions is great,” the source said.

But the source did not indicate whether management of both Russian banks has already sanctioned such moves.

14.04.2010 09:45

Bloomberg: Rostelecom Plans 30 Billion-Ruble Bond Sale, Vedomosti Says

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aIgguWebqJ2g

By Maria Ermakova

April 14 (Bloomberg) -- OAO Rostelecom, Russia’s long- distance telephone operator, plans to sell 30 billion rubles ($1 billion) of bonds, Vedomosti reported, citing Yevgeny Yurchenko, the company’s chairman.

Rostelecom will use the proceeds of the sale to fund the purchase of 25 percent of its parent company, OAO Svyazinvest, from OAO Comstar United TeleSystems, Yurchenko told the newspaper.

To contact the reporter on this story: Maria Ermakova in Moscow at [e-mail]

Last Updated: April 14, 2010 00:54 EDT
2010-04-14 07:09
Reuters: BRIEF-Russia's Protek sets IPO price range of $3.10-4.50/share

http://www.iii.co.uk/news/?type=afxnews&articleid=7839472&action=article

MOSCOW, April 14 (Reuters) - Russian drug company Protek:

 ANNOUNCES IPO PRICE RANGE OF $3.10-$4.50 PER SHARE

 AIMS TO RAISE $400 MILLION

 COMPANY VALUED AT $1.46-2.12 BILLION BEFORE IPO

 BOOK-BUILDING STARTS APRIL 14, EXPECTED TO BE COMPLETED BY MONTH-END

(Moscow Newsroom, + 7 495 775 12 42, [e-mail])
EasyBourse: Russian Drug Company Protek Sets Price Range For MICEX, RTS IPO

http://www.easybourse.com/bourse/actualite/marches/russian-drug-company-protek-sets-price-range-for-micex--816624
MOSCOW -(Dow Jones)- Russian drug group OAO Protek Wednesday set the indicative price range for its initial public offering from $3.10 to $4.50 a share, adding that it expect to sell $400 worth of stock.
Around half of the sum raised will go to existing shareholders.
Protek has received permission from Russian regulators to list 117.5 million shares, representing a fifth of its post-issue capital, which would imply a valuation of $2 billion for the group.
The company had revenue of 91.58 billion rubles ($3.01 billion) in 2009, with earnings before interest, depreciation and amortization of RUB5.84 billion.
Protek is Russia's largest distributor of pills and medicine--accounting for just over a fifth of that market.
The offering is being organized by UBS Investment Bank and Moscow-based Renaissance Capital.
-By Will Bland, Dow Jones Newswires; [phone]; [e-mail]