Todd Boehly, U.S. billionaire and former Chelsea chairman, is leading a bid for
Russian oil company Lukoil’s international assets with backing from the U.S.
government and Gulf capital reportedly linked to the Trump family. The assets,
placed for sale after Lukoil faced U.S. sanctions last year, were written down
to about $20 bln in March and span oil and gas fields from Central Asia to
Mexico, thousands of service stations and substantial European refining
capacity. Insiders say Boehly’s consortium includes the U.S. International
Development Finance Corp. (DFC), which would take roughly a 15% stake, UAE
presidential brother Sheikh Tahnoon and Qatar’s Al-Hayat family; Boehly has been
preparing for months and seeks to displace U.S. buyout giant Carlyle, which had
earlier agreed to acquire the assets. Boehly has not finalized terms with
Lukoil; the proposal is advanced but the parties’ negotiation status is unclear.
