Warum Lukoil stark fällt ? - 500 Beiträge pro Seite

[Putin@]

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[gholzbauer]

http://www.aton.ru/en/research/daily.asp?y=2001&m=6&d=29&tmo…


29.6.2001

LUKoil Common $12.780 — BUY
Pref $12.550 — BUY

No minorities on BoD, listing moved to London

Lukoil`s AGM Thursday yielded an unpleasant surprise - no minority representative elected to the BoD. In another negative development, the company said it would seek a London Stock Exchange, rather than an NYSE, listing. Also, shareholders approved the 2000 RAS financials, dividends and the conversion of preferred shares into commons. The AGM authorized the issuance of 94mn common shares, of which 77.2mn will go toward converting the prefs and 16.8mn will be used to issue convertible Eurobonds. Lukoil also said KPMG would complete the audit of its 2000 US GAAP financials in two weeks.

Given Lukoil`s 50%-plus foreign ownership, we were expecting minority investors to elect at least one independent director. But despite a 94% shareholder turnout, no minority was elected to the 11-member board - an indication that most foreign investors did not vote and ING Bank transferred unused voting rights to management.

At a press conference after the AGM, the company said it and the government decided to seek a London Stock Exchange (LSE) listing and sell 6.1% from the government`s stake in London. Previously, the government sought to obtain NYSE listing and issue Level 1 or Level 2 ADRs to US investors.

The company explained the decision by possible political risks - US has harsh policies toward "pariah" countries like Iran, Iraq and Sudan, countries in which Lukoil conducts or may conduct some business. This explanation, however, looks rather weak, since other international oil majors with operations in these countries, like Totalfina, ENI and Petrochina, are listed on the NYSE as Level 1 ADRs.

We have little doubt that the placement will be successful, but the decision not to list on the world`s premier marketplace is likely to negatively affect demand level and overall sentiment.