US billionaire leads swap plan to buy Lukoil's overseas assets, sources say

Key Points:

• A consortium led by US billionaire Todd Boehly is preparing a securities swap deal to acquire Lukoil's international assets, with a transaction expected within weeks after over a year of negotiations.
• The deal involves exchanging billions of dollars of frozen Lukoil securities, purchased from Western investment funds at a significant discount, for Lukoil's foreign oilfields, refineries, and petrol stations across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
• The transaction aims to comply with Western sanctions by preventing Lukoil from gaining direct financial benefits, with shares to be held in escrow rather than transferred to the Russian company.
• The consortium includes Boehly, Emirati investors International Holding Company and Al Hail Holding, the Syrian-Qatari Al-Khayat brothers, and the US International Development Finance Corp, with major competitors like Exxon Mobil, Chevron, and Carlyle having exited the bidding.
• This deal will test the effectiveness of Western sanctions in compelling a major Russian oil firm to divest international assets while limiting Moscow's financial gains amid ongoing geopolitical tensions.