Russian state oil firm Rosneft is talking to banks about raising £9.25billion in debt financing as it inches towards a deal to buy BP’s 50% stake in Anglo-Russian oil venture TNK-BP, bankers said yesterday.
Rosneft and BP briefed Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, on their negotiations on Tuesday evening, with both playing down expectations of an imminent breakthrough.
Bankers in London said, however, that Rosneft – led by powerful former deputy premier Igor Sechin – was in talks with 12-14 lenders to raise debt financing in the form of a bridge loan, term loans and bonds.