Gazprom's chief executive, Alexei Miller, met with Michael Klein, CEO of global banking at Citigroup, at Gazprom's central office to discuss ways to diversify the Russian company's business, including Citigroup's assistance in developing Gazprom's oil business strategy.
U.S.-based Citigroup is a leading financial institution that took part in providing syndicated loans to Gazprom to build the 2,000-km Yamal-Europe gas pipeline, which was commissioned in 1999 and runs across Poland, Belarus and Russia. Citigroup was also the top manager in Gazprom's inaugural Eurobond issue in April 2002.
In October 2005, Citigroup investment bank was one of the six organizers of a $13.1-billion syndicated loan to finance Gazprom's acquisition of 75.7% of the shares in Russia's fifth largest oil company Sibneft last September.
Citigroup also prepared a fairness opinion on a deal to increase the state's share in Gazprom's authorized capital in 2005, and was one of the architects of Gazprom's oil business strategy.
