MOSCOW, September 4 (RIA Novosti) - Gazprom [RTS:GAZP] said Monday it would soon complete a deal to acquire a stake in Novatek [RTS: NVTK], Russia's largest independent natural gas producer.
The Russian energy giant intends to purchase 20% of shares in Novatek from the company's core shareholders. After the deal is over, Gazprom will receive two seats on the Novatek board.
Novatek is the second largest gas company in Russia after Gazprom. Its natural gas reserves are put at 1.6 trillion cu m.
In 2005, Novatek produced some 25.2 bln cu m of natural gas and 2.59 mln metric tons of gas condensate and oil. The company's charter capital, which stands at 303.63 bln rubles ($10.99 bln), is divided into 3,036,306 shares with a par value of 100 rubles ($3.62) each.
