MOSCOW - Gazprom is most likely to buy a stake in Sibneft. The gas giant is going to borrow $10bn from a group of western banks to buy Roman Abramovich’s company, the Finansoviye Izvestia newspaper reports. ABN Amro and Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein (DrKW) could help Gazprom finance this acquisition.

According to the newspaper story, Bloomberg was the news agency that reported about such a considerable loan with reference to anonymous sources in banks participating in the talks. Though the said banks, Gazprom and Sibneft refused to comment on the deal yesterday, the transaction amount being discussed is unprecedented for the Russian market. No one in Russia has ever attracted such an enormous sum.

The financial model for Sibneft’s acquisition will be pretty complicated. As such, Gazprom will first have to complete a deal on transferring its shares to state ownership. Afterwards, according to Bloomberg, the $10bn financing package for Gazprom's acquisition will probably be split into three portions. Half of the amount can be allocated in the form of a short-term bridge loan (which is to be paid back by the funds raised from placement of the borrower’s debt instruments). Gazprom will redeem this loan as soon as the state-owned Rosneftegaz pays for 10.74 percent of shares in the gas concern (the settlement deadline is December 2005). Another $5bn can be borrowed from banks, of which about half will be repaid from a bond issue.

Experts believe Gazprom will buy 72 percent of shares in Sibneft, as in addition to the acquisition of new assets, the gas giant will also improve foreign investments in Russia. However, analysts differ on how much money Gazprom will need. They point to the company’s considerable debt and available funds of at least $5bn, thanks to which the credit may be cut. Moreover, Royal Dutch/Shell may become Gazprom’s partner to the deal allowing the gas holding to take part in the Sakhalin-2 project in exchange for a minority stake in Sibneft.

Anyway, everything can change completely if shareholders in Sibneft modify the Articles of Association obliging the buyer of 30 percent and more to offer a stake to minority shareholders first. That will be an extra headache for Gazprom and the deal price may go up, the newspaper concluded.

As reported earlier, Roman Abramovich received record-high dividends on Sibneft’s shares this summer, thus indirectly contributing to the rumor that he will sell the company soon.