IPO plans: at Rosneft
- Heavyweights warm to Rosneft offering
- Eni turns back on Rosneft IPO
- Petrobras denies Rosneft stake claim
- Rosneft sets price range for flotation
- Rosneft gets IPO show on road
- Yukos in bid to stop Rosneft IPO
- Rosneft issue gets go ahead
- Bogdanchikov set to crack open the piggy bank
- Rosneft to pick foreign investors
- Rosneft gets backing on IPO plan
ONGC eyes $3bn Rosneft slice
India is considering investing up to $3 billion in Russian producer Rosneft via state-run Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), a senior oil ministry official said today.
"We are in discussion. It is up to $3 billion investment through ONGC Videsh Ltd. in Rosneft," Petroleum Secretary MS Srinivasan told Reuters.
ONGC Videsh is the overseas investment arm of ONGC.
Rosneft, Russia's most leveraged company, is planning to raise $11 billion from an initial public offering of between 13% and 19% of its stock in London and Moscow on 14 July.
If ONGC bids for a stake in Rosneft, it would bring it in direct competition with global oil giants. BP, China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and Malaysia's Petronas have also expressed interest in investing in Rosneft, sources have said.
Rosneft has valued itself at $60 billion to $80 billion for the IPO.
Bankers have said the price was too high and Rosneft would need to bring it down if it wanted the IPO to succeed. Rosneft argues it is growing faster than any other Russian company and enjoys full support from the Kremlin.
"The market cap of Rosneft will be around $60 billion. Our investment will be roughly for a 5% stake of the company," Srinivasan said.
Rosneft chief Sergei Bogdanchikov had hinted Chinese and Indian players such as CNPC and ONGC were prepared to outbid portfolio investors and buy into Rosneft even at the current price to strengthen relations with Moscow.