After months of speculation about the possible sale of the Kommersant newspaper and publishing house to one of Russia's oligarchs, the disclosure of the buyer's name - Kia Joorabchian - has not shed much light on the sale.
Kommersant officials said they would publish an interview with founder Vladimir Yakovlev in Tuesday's edition explaining the motives for the sale of his 60 percent stake to a U.S. company called American Capital Investment Fund, which is run by Joorabchian. He was described only as a British subject of Iranian origin.
Kommersant says Joorabchian - a figure unknown to investment analysts contacted Monday - is not connected to financial mogul Boris Berezovsky, who had been in negotiations to buy a stake in the paper, or to any of Russia's other politically influential tycoons.
Russian news media have said companies affiliated with Anatoly Chubais, chief executive of the UES national electrical utility, and with Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov were also bidding for the firm. Yakovlev is living in the United States and no longer supervises the day-to-day operations of the company, which is reportedly millions of dollars in debt.
The APN Internet news service reported Monday that Joorabchian had bought an 85 percent stake in Kommersant and told the newspaper's journalists Monday that it was an underestimated company that could be resold at a higher price within three or four years. He also said he was not put off by the investment risks and planned to turn Kommersant into a publicly held company.
He said he would keep the current management team running the paper for at least a year, the news service said.
In a telephone interview Monday, Kommersant chief editor Raf Shakirov said Joorabchian flatly denies any relation with Russian oligarchs.
Given the absence of information on Joorabchian, many observers remain suspicious that he could be acting on behalf of a major Russian firm interested in buying the paper's political influence.
"Perhaps the only way to find out who exactly bought the paper is to read it intently in the remaining six months before the elections," Novaya Gazeta wrote Monday.
Shakirov said Monday he had no facts to prove any version of events. "I have no evidence to prove that someone stands behind [Joorabchian]," he said. "As soon as I know anything, I will make a statement."
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