Bear in a Serbian shop

16 January 2008 By Pierre Briancon

The Russian behemoth is offering to buy control of Serbia s oil and gas stateowned monopoly at a knockdown price. Other bidders might pay more. But they can’t offer Serbia diplomatic support at the UN in advance of a key vote on Kosovo, or access to huge reserves.

This content is for Subscribers only

Context News

Gazprom, the Russian gas stateowned monopoly, has sweetened its offer to buy a majority stake in Oil Industry of Serbia (Nis) in a lastminute attempt to clinch a deal ahead of Serbia's presidential election to be held January 20, according to media reports.

The Serbian government has been split over Gazprom's original offer, with the economy minister calling for a public competitive tender and asserting that Russia's offer amounted to less than half of the company's real value.

Gazprom originally offered E400m for a 51% stake in Nis, with a promise to invest E500m more in Serbia's infrastructures.

Email a friend

Please complete the form below.

Required fields *