US billionaire Todd Boehly’s consortium buys frozen Lukoil securities at 70% discount, moving closer to $22 billion asset deal spanning oil and gas interests in five African countries

Key Points:

• A bank representing a consortium led by American investor Todd Boehly has reportedly purchased billions of dollars in frozen Lukoil securities from Western funds, aiming to exchange them for Lukoil's international oil assets across Africa, Europe, and the Middle East.
• The consortium includes American and Gulf investors such as Boehly, Emirati groups International Holding Company and Al Hail Holding, the Syrian-Qatari Al-Khayat brothers, and the US International Development Finance Corporation.
• Lukoil's African portfolio includes stakes in oil and gas projects in Egypt, Cameroon, Ghana, Nigeria, and the Republic of Congo, with some assets potentially subject to pre-emptive rights by local governments or partners.
• The proposed transaction is structured as a cashless exchange, designed to prevent Lukoil from gaining immediate financial benefit, but it requires US Treasury approval, which remains a significant hurdle due to sanctions and regulatory restrictions.
• If successful, the deal would shift ownership of key African energy assets to a US-backed consortium, marking a major change in control of resources in five African countries, while offering Western investors a partial recovery on frozen securities at a steep discount.