Support The Moscow Times!

Lynch Says He Will Sell Yukos Assets

Stephen Lynch Unknown
U.S. businessman Stephen Lynch said Monday that he planned to sell the international Yukos assets he bought at a bankruptcy auction last week.

"I'm confident this asset will find a home," Lynch said.

Lynch said his firm, Monte Valle, had been reducing its presence in industrial real estate to focus on other investments. Monte Valle and a group of investors bought Yukos Finance, Yukos' disputed international unit, for $305 million Wednesday.

Lynch said VR Capital, a U.S. hedge fund run by Richard Deitz, was one of the investors helping fund the purchase. He declined to name any others, but said they were all "non-Russian, foreign capital."

Lynch said he bought registered bidder Promneftstroi on the eve of the sale to participate in the auction for Yukos International. Promneftstroi previously belonged to Rosneft.

Yukos Finance owns a 49 percent stake in the Slovak pipeline monopoly, Transpetrol.

Embattled oil firm Russneft was interested in buying part of Transpetrol, but dropped all talks after a request from Gazprom Neft, Russneft's former head, Mikhail Gutseriyev, has said.

Sign up for our free weekly newsletter

Our weekly newsletter contains a hand-picked selection of news, features, analysis and more from The Moscow Times. You will receive it in your mailbox every Friday. Never miss the latest news from Russia. Preview
Subscribers agree to the Privacy Policy

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.

Once
Monthly
Annual
Continue
paiment methods
Not ready to support today?
Remind me later.

Read more