Russian gas giant Gazprom share package to unknown buyer

Gazprom, one of Russia’s largest listed companies, sold 3.6 % of its shares via the Moscow Exchange last week. The offered shares had been held by a Gazprom subsidiary, and the offering was valued at around 190 billion rubles (2.7 billion euros) as the shares sold at an 11 % discount to the closing price preceding the placement.

A similar type of sale took place last July, when Gazprom subsidiaries sold a 2.9 % stake in parent-company shares. The offering at that time was valued at around 140 billion rubles (2 billion euros) and the shares were also sold at a small discount. In both rounds, all offered shares were purchased by a single unidentified investor.

Even with the offerings, the majority of Gazprom shares continue to be held by the Russian government. Gazprom estimates that its free float has now risen to 49.6 % of the share capital. Gazprom has a 15 % free-float weighting in the Moscow Exchange’s RTS index, which is calculated in dollars.