Rosneft Taps $22Bln In Loans.

(From The Moscow Times)

Rosneft announced Tuesday that it would borrow a record $22 billion from eight foreign banks to fund its purchase of assets, including those of the bankrupt oil company Yukos.

One of the two loans, worth $9 billion, will finance the bid for Yukos' 9.44 percent stake in Rosneft at an auction set for March 27, the state oil company said in a statement.

The formal beneficiary of the loan will be Rosneft's new fully owned subsidiary, RN-Razvitiye, which has already requested authorization from the Federal Anti-Monopoly Service to buy the stake, Rosneft said. Rosneft will act as guarantor for the loan.

Rosneft set up RN-Razvitiye in January with a starting capital of only 10,000 rubles ($384).

The second loan, for $13 billion, will go directly to Rosneft, the company said in the statement. Rosneft CEO Sergei Bogdanchikov indicated that …