VTB to palm stake to Gulf investor?

By Marcus Williams

The management of state-controlled VTB met with Persian Gulf investors about a potential sale of a sizable stake.

Kuwait’s Oil Minister and Information Minister said VTB had presented a commercial offer for the Kuwaiti government to become a shareholder.

The bank was included in the planned state privatization list drawn up by the Finance Ministry last month, with plans to decrease the state’s stake from its current 85.5% to 61% by 2013. At current market prices, Troika  Dialog said this 24.5% stake is worth $7.2bn.

VTB, one of the celebrated People's IPOs, has bombed investor expectations since the bank listed in 2007. Wily Gulf investors, who have already punted money in Wall Street institutions, will be hoping for a better return.

The Kremlin may also hawk a 9.3 percent stake in Sberbank around which may prove to be a much more interesting prospect for sovereign funds.

By Marcus Williams The management of state-controlled VTB met with Persian Gulf investors about a potential sale of a sizable stake. Kuwait’s Oil Minister and Information Minister said VTB had presented a commercial offer for the Kuwaiti government to become a shareholder. The bank was included in the planned state privatization list ...