EUR 3 bn Yukos bidder disappears into the ether

Prana, the company that came out of the blue to bid EUR 3 bn to acquire the key assets of bankrupt Russian energy giant Yukos, has stunned the market again by pulling a disappearing act. Although Prana paid the equivalent of EUR 127 mln to take part in the auction, it has fallen silent since outbidding rival Rosnett for a lot of Yukos assets, including the company's Moscow headquarters for EUR 190 mln. The Russian regulatory authority has been forced to push back the deadline for a decision on the transaction until 2 August as it has failed to make contact with Prana or establish the identities of the personalities behind it. Documents sent by regulators to Prana's registered address in Moscow were returned as no such company operates from the building.

This is just the latest twist in the boom-to-bust Yukos saga. Yukos grew to be one of the largest non-State petroleum companies after the Russian government sold off huge amounts of State assets at bargain prices in the early 1990s. Russian billionaire Mikhail Khodorkovsky and a group of businessmen amassed huge fortunes through Yukos until 2003 when Khodorkovsky was arrested for tax evasion. He was sentenced to nine years in jail in 2005. Khodorkovsky denied any wrongdoing and claimed the prosecution was orchestrated by the Kremlin. Subsequently, Yukos was declared bankrupt and forced to sell its assets. State-owned energy company Gazprom has dismissed suggestions it is behind Prana.