Russia Pugachev aims to sell shipyards -sources

Russian businessman Sergei Pugachev wants to sell his stakes in two shipyards to a state company, sources close to his OPK holding company told Reuters on Thursday. However, the two sides remain far apart on a possible price, as Pugachev is seeking 90 billion roubles ($2.85 billion), roughly three times more than the state-owned shipbuilding company OSK is willing to pay, the sources added.
Pugachev, who is also Siberia's Tuva Republic representative in the Federation Council, needs money to help his International Industrial Bank (IIB), also known as MezhPromBank, to repay eurobonds and debt to the central bank.
The businessman is currently in sale talks with OSK, which stands for United Shipbuilding Corporation, entrusted by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin with making the deal, MezhPromBank's spokesman Dmitry Morochenko said on Thursday, confirming media reports.
The deal is in the final stages, a source at the bank told Reuters.
However, the two sides have yet to agree on the price as OSK is not ready to pay more than 23 billion to 25 billion roubles, Igor Ryabov, a spokesman for the firm, said.
State-controlled bank VTB may be the middleman in the transaction, buying assets from Pugachev and selling them to OSK later, a source at OSK said.
'Money may come to the bank through a subordinated loan, an additional share issue, or if Pugachev pays back loans which have been given to his holding company OPK (which includes the shipyards),' the source at MezhPromBank said.
Ratings agency Fitch on Wednesday revised the rating watch on IIB to 'negative', citing its weak liquidity position, and said Pugachev, an 81-percent IIB shareholder, could sell or pledge assets of his company, OPK.