The Federal Anti-Monopoly Service is most likely to ask Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov to examine Gazprom’s upcoming takeover of Russia’s largest coal company. The competition watchdog suspects that the deal will limit competition on the fuel market. Gazprom, meanwhile, sounds confident of the government’s succor.
The agency’s director for the fuel and energy industry Alexander Pirozhenko on Thursday supported Anti-Monopoly Service Head Igor Artemyev in his harsh criticism of the upcoming deal between Gazpom and the SUEK coal produer. If the examination of the market situation shows that “the merger of Gazprom and SUEK will limit competition, the Federal Anti-Monopoly Service will present this opinion to the prime minister,” Mr. Pirozhenko told Kommersant.
The competition watchdog has powers to block the merge. The deal to create a joint venture of Gazprom and SUEK will also have to win the agency’s go-ahead. SUEK plans to put all its coal assets in the company.
In the meantime, another top official have come up to question the merger. Vyacheslav Kravchenko, head of the Industry and Energy Ministry’s tariff policy, said that Russia “must not concentrate everything – from football to a fuel company in one place”.
Neither the gas monopolist nor the coal companies gave official comment on the news. But a high-placed source of Kommersant in Gazprom said the company had secured succor in the government. At any rate, First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev will surely not try to oppose the idea, continuing to sit on Gazprom’s board of directors.
The agency’s director for the fuel and energy industry Alexander Pirozhenko on Thursday supported Anti-Monopoly Service Head Igor Artemyev in his harsh criticism of the upcoming deal between Gazpom and the SUEK coal produer. If the examination of the market situation shows that “the merger of Gazprom and SUEK will limit competition, the Federal Anti-Monopoly Service will present this opinion to the prime minister,” Mr. Pirozhenko told Kommersant.The competition watchdog has powers to block the merge. The deal to create a joint venture of Gazprom and SUEK will also have to win the agency’s go-ahead. SUEK plans to put all its coal assets in the company.
In the meantime, another top official have come up to question the merger. Vyacheslav Kravchenko, head of the Industry and Energy Ministry’s tariff policy, said that Russia “must not concentrate everything – from football to a fuel company in one place”.
Neither the gas monopolist nor the coal companies gave official comment on the news. But a high-placed source of Kommersant in Gazprom said the company had secured succor in the government. At any rate, First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev will surely not try to oppose the idea, continuing to sit on Gazprom’s board of directors.
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