YUKOS Stocks Up as Bankruptcy Auctions Finish
Published May 14th, 2007
YUKOS’s stocks soared on Friday following an auction for the last remaining assets of the bankrupt oil giant. The company’s shares closed 49 percent up at the RTS, increasing its capitalization to $1.16 billion. Quotations are believed to have risen on expectations that YUKOS’s shareholders might receive some money after the company has cleared its debts.
YUKOS’s shares went up 63 percent after an obscure Russian company, Prana, on Friday bought the last remaining assets of the company, including its headquarters, for 100.09 billion rubles, exceeding the opening price by more than fourfold. The quotations rolled back later to 49 percent.
The bankruptcy auctions this spring have raised some $31.5 billion for creditors. Additional claims have lately increased YUKOS’s liabilities to $27.4 billion.
The Friday auction left YUKOS roughly $4 billion, which raised the company’s shares to 52 from 42 cents on the RTS. Market watchers evidently thought that the money may go to shareholders.
YUKOS, however, have both debts and current accounts to be cleared first. There are also remunerations for the receiver and a group of lawyers to be paid, which makes it makes it very unlike that shareholders will ever see their money.
