By Lukas I. Alpert
MOSCOW--Russian oil producer OAO Bashneft (BANE.RS) said Friday
it is planning to make a foreign share offering sometime around the
end of next year, but hasn't yet appointed banks for the bid or
decided on how big a stake would be sold.
The company is 75% controlled by conglomerate AFK Sistema
(AFKS.RS) and has been listed on the Moscow Exchange since 2011
with around 14% of its shares freely floated.
"The company is exploring the possibility of an IPO at the end
of 2014 or early 2015," Bashneft said in a statement. "We have not
yet decided the size of the placement, nor appointed banks or
decided on an exact date."
Sistema first bought a 20% stake in Bashneft in 2005 and then
upped its holding to 75% in 2009 for $2.5 billion.
Earlier this year, Russian media reported that state-run oil
giant OAO Rosneft (ROSN.RS) was considering buying Bashneft, but
Sistema's chairman and main shareholder, Vladimir Yevtushenkov,
said no offer was ever made. Rosneft later denied the reports.
Write to Lukas I. Alpert at lukas.alpert@dowjones.com
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires