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Russia`s Gazprom Purchases Majority Stake in Sibnet

The state-controlled Russian energy company Gazprom agreed Wednesday to purchase a majority stake in privately owned Sibneft for $13.01 billion, the largest corporate deal in Russia`s history and one that will tighten the state`s grip on the country`s booming energy sector.

Gazprom, formed from assets of the Soviet natural gas ministry, will acquire 72.66 percent of Sibneft`s shares. The sale will be almost completely financed with a loan of $12 billion from a consortium of Western banks.

Sibneft, Russia`s fifth-largest oil producer, pumps about 900,000 barrels a day. The company emerged from the sale of state assets to private investors after the collapse of the Soviet Union, a policy that was unpopular here and is being reversed by President Vladimir Putin.