Rosneft bought back its 9.44% stake held by Yukos in the first auction to sell the bankrupt oil company's assets through a 100%-controlled subsidiary, RN-Razvitiye, earlier Tuesday.
"Rosneft regards company shares as highly liquid assets with good potential for growth and a good object for investment that will bring benefit to its shareholders," the company said in a news release.
RN-Razvitiye offered 197.84 billion (about $7.6 billion) for the stake, including 12 promissory notes in the Yuganskneftegaz oil-producing unit, worth 3.558 billion rubles (about $136.8 million).
The price paid by Rosneft at the auction was fair, a company representative said.
Market watchers believe Rosneft's purchase will further strengthen the role of the state in the oil sector and enhance the company's attraction for foreign investors.
Sergei Beiden, of IG Kapital, said Rosneft's victorious bid was a foregone conclusion.
"The auction results are in conformity with the Russian government's course to strengthen the role of the state and limit the participation of foreign companies in strategic sectors, specifically the fuel and energy complex," he said.
Maxim Shein, an analyst with Broker Credit Service, said he thought Rosneft would resell the stake to a strategic investor - for cash or in the form of a joint venture.
"If it opts for a joint venture, it will likely be with Chinese or Indian companies," he said.
Yukos, once Russia's largest oil company, was declared bankrupt August 1, 2006, after three years of litigation with tax authorities over the company's tax arrears.
Yukos, whose founder Mikhail Khodorkovsky is serving an eight-year prison term in Siberia after being convicted of fraud in May 2005, faces a total of more than 700 billion rubles (about $26.9 billion) in claims from creditors.
The Yukos creditors' committee could discuss the issue of selling Samaraneftegaz and Tomskneft, still in the bankrupt company's possession, next Friday, said Nikolai Lashkevich, press secretary for the Yukos bankruptcy receiver.
However, the chairman of the Yukos board of directors said the stake was sold below market value.
"The buyer of this stock should understand what market price is. If you pay less, you expose yourself to criticism from the company's majority and minority shareholders alike," Viktor Gerashchenko said at Yukos' central office, where the auction was held.
