Privately-owned Russia oil company Bashneft may seek to raise $1 billion to $2 billion with an IPO on the London Stock Exchange in September, provided that market conditions are favorable, the company's CEO, Alexander Corsica, said.
No final decision to float shares has been made, Vedomosti quoted Corsica as saying at a company event for investors in London. But in organizational terms, "we will be ready by September," he said.
Ahead of Bashneft's annual shareholder meeting on June 10, the board has recommended paying dividends of 36.48 billion rubles ($1.08 billion) on the company's 2013 net profit — which, added to the 45 billion rubles ($1.3 billion) of dividends already distributed over the first three quarters of 2013, would bring Bashneft's annual payout to a record $2.4 billion. Corsica said he expects Bashneft's output to rise over the next five to 10 years, allowing the company to continue paying such dividends. In its IFRS financial statements, Bashneft reported revenue of 563 billion rubles ($16.25 billion) last year, up 6 percent from 2012.
In May, Bashneft reorganized its ownership structure to remove cross-ownership with its principle shareholder, Russian oil-to-telecoms conglomerate Sistema, Vedomosti reported. Sistema now controls 84.4 percent of Bashneft.
See also:
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
![paiment methods](https://static.themoscowtimes.com/img/contribute/payment_icons.png)
Remind me later.