The Swiss company Gunvor, led by Swedish billionaire Torbjörn Törnqvist, has reached an agreement to acquire all foreign assets of the Russian oil corporation Lukoil. This comes as a result of new U.S. sanctions against Lukoil, forcing the company to divest its international divisions.
This is reported by Business • Media
Major Deal in the Energy Resources Market
Gunvor will gain control over a wide network of assets, including gas stations in the Bronx (New York), refineries in various European countries, as well as oil fields in the Middle East and Central Asia. Experts estimate the value of Lukoil’s international assets to be around $20 billion.
Risks of the Deal and Impact of Sanctions
Törnqvist founded the trading company Gunvor in 1997 together with Gennady Timchenko, who previously worked as a Soviet official and is known as a close associate of Vladimir Putin. This deal serves as a prominent example of how Western sanctions are affecting the redistribution of assets in the global oil sector. The market is gradually changing: private traders willing to take on political risks in exchange for access to lucrative resources are replacing sanctioned state-owned companies from Russia.
At the same time, the deal requires approval from regulators in the U.S. and the U.K., making it a test for Western sanction policies: will they allow a company with a complicated “Russian past” to become the main beneficiary of these sanctions?
So far, the execution of the transaction depends on the decisions of American and British regulators. Their stance will indicate whether companies linked to Russian business can take advantage of the consequences of sanctions and become the primary beneficiaries of the redistribution of energy assets.