Russ Oil-Gas

RBC, 17.11.2006, Moscow 09:26:39.As YUKOS' sale is drawing nearer, major companies seeking to acquire its assets are borrowing money. Two weeks ago, Rosneft was granted a credit of $24.5bn from a number of western banks, and Gazprom is expected to announce the results of placing two loans, in dollars and euros, on November 17, RBC Daily said today. On November 16, Gazprom opened order books for the two Eurobond tranches. This would be the third borrowing of the gas giant which is eyeing Tomsk-based assets of YUKOS. Assets subject to the bankruptcy proceedings are to be sold on or after January 19, 2007, and by that time independent assessment companies will have determined their value. An Uralsib analyst put the fair value of all YUKOS assets at around $27bn, however he did not rule out that they might sold at a significant discount.