State United Shipbuilding Corporation to gain control over Caspian energy

Kommersant has learnt that the state united shipbuilding corporation (OSK) will gain actual control over the group “Caspian Energy”. The present owners of Caspian energy will have not more than 20% of shares, about 40% will be purchased by the structures of OSK and a portfolio investor, acting in the interests of the corporation. The participants of the market say that OSK needs Caspian energy to execute orders on the construction of platforms and vessels for Lukoil’s deposits at the Caspian Sea.
Kommersant has learnt the details of the deal on transferring the control over the group Caspian energy to OSK. Last week the Federal Antimonopoly Service issued permission to the Khabarovsk ship repair plant (in the structure of OSK) for the purchase of 14% in Caspian energy. But sources of Kommersant in the sphere say that I. Kokarev and D. Paltsev, the major shareholders of Caspian energy, will keep not more than 20%. The press secretary of OSK A. Kravchenko told Kommersant: the corporation will have the largest package that will allow to manage. Another 40% of shares are purchased by some portfolio investor who will be acting in the interests of the corporation, sources of Kommersant said. Later OSK might legally increase its stake purchasing a part of the stake, one of them adds. A new CEO of Caspian energy (now is headed by I. Kokarev) will become D. Sapov – the former top-manager of the group who recently left for the department of commercial shipbuilding of OSK.
Caspian energy comprises the engineering company Center of Marine technologies “Shelf” OOO, Astrakhan production company OOO (Lotos, Astrakhan carabel and plant named after 3rd International) and service company Krane Marine Contractor OOO.
According to sources of Kommersant in the market, the idea of purchasing Caspian energy belongs to the ex-chairman of the Board of Directors of OSK, Vice-Premier I. Sechin. Via Caspian energy the corporation might obtain access to Lukoil’s projects on the construction of the platform and vessels for the development of oil deposits of the Caspian. According to A. Kravchenko, OSK is also interested in the service division that has practical experience on the construction and maintenance of the Caspian oil platform named after Korchagin that started to work at Lukoil’s deposit in 2010. Its value is assessed at 20 bln roubles.
A source of Kommersant close to OSK adds that the corporation is interested in Lukoil’s tender for the construction of the platform for the Filanovsky deposit, the development of which is planned to start in 2015. Lukoil said that it considered the Astrakhan companies as contractors. The President of Lukoil V. Alekperov in 2009 promised that the volume of construction –assembly works at the Caspian will amount to $12 bln, and they will be carried out by the Russian suppliers. OSK might also need the service division of Caspian energy to maintain the Prirazlomnaya platform that is being constructed by the corporation in Murmansk.
The shareholders of Caspian energy didn’t want to separate with the group before new orders at the Caspian, sources of Kommersant say, but the group has debts. According to 2010 report under RAS, loans and credits of Caspian energy (2.5 bln roubles) exceeded its revenue (2.3 bln roubles), and the group had a loss, and the entire debt is short-term. One can not judge by RAS report: production cycles in shipbuilding are long and the revenue shows either a fall or growth, M. Pak from IK Aton says. But one should bear in mind that the affiliates of Caspian energy, that are not consolidated in the report, also might have a large debt, he adds. The plants of Caspian energy will require significant modernization, N. Malysheva from PortNews adds. According to her, the group would have hardly obtained large orders without OSK; technical and ecological requirements to platforms become more and more strict. 

http://www.kommersant.ru/doc/1693298
Translated by Galiya Davletgareeva