LONDON (AFX) - Roman Abramovich, owner of Chelsea Football Club, is understood to have taken a large stake in Rosneft PLC, the Russian oil giant, which floated in Moscow and London last week, according to The Observer.
The newspaper did not name its source, but said the high-profile billionaire is thought to have bought around 300 mln usd of shares in Rosneft, although full trading does not begin until this week. The final allocations of stocks have not yet been revealed.
The news comes as Rosneft's 10.4 bln usd IPO faces an 11th-hour legal challenge from Russian oil company Yukos due to be heard in the High Court in London tomorrow.
Abramovich joins the likes of BP PLC and Malaysia's Petronas among Rosneft's bigger shareholders.
A 300 mln usd investment would give him around 3 pct of all shares now on the market, although his share of Rosneft's total equity would be much smaller, the newspaper said. newsdesk@afxnews.com ml/hjp COPYRIGHT Copyright AFX News Limited 2005. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of AFX News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of AFX News. AFX News and AFX Financial News Logo are registered trademarks of AFX News Limited