Russia’s Onexim buys 50% stake in TGK-4

Russia’s Onexim, whose control is in the hands of billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov, has acquired a stake of around fifty percent in TGK-4 for around five hundred and eight million dollars.

Initially Mikhail Prokhorov was hailed as an up and coming major player in the Russian energy industry, but has recently shifted focus away from the industry because of an asset split with Vladimir Potanin, a former business associate,.

Prokhorov and Potanin, who both own Norilsk Nickel, a metals firm took the decision in 2007 to go separate ways and split their huge industrial fortune, with Mikhail Prokhorov ending up with the electricity assets. Amongst these was to be OGK-3, a key power producer that Norilsk bought last March for slightly over three billion dollars.

But the bitter split between the two men, made opt for the re-sale of OGK-3, around which they had wanted to create a seven billion dollar power holding known as EnergoPolyus. Analysts are of the view that Prokhorov still wants to create a power holding starting with TGK-4. TGK-4 however is tiny compared to OGK-3, and Mikhail Prokhorov will have a hard time transforming it into a major player through new acquisitions.

Already, Unified Energy System, has disposed all except two of its twenty key electricity firms as part of major reforms of the energy sector that will witness the former monopoly taken to pieces.

The only big firm left is OGK-1, which is to be disposed for approximately seven billion dollars by the end of June, when the life of Unified Energy System comes to an end.

www.onexim.org