The deal marks the end of a 30-year period in which Lukoil became a global power, but after the sanctions imposed by the United States, it quickly reduced its activities
Leonid Fedun, co-founder of Russian energy company Lukoil, has sold his stake in the oil corporation, valued at about $ 7 billion, Reuters reported, citing its sources.
The deal marks the end of a 30-year period in which Lukoil became a global power, but after the sanctions imposed by the United States, it quickly reduced its activities.
After months of avoiding sanctions over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Lukoil was severely hit in October and is now selling its foreign assets. Analysts have long considered the company a potential acquisition target for state giant Rosneft, which is also under Western sanctions.
Ukrainian-born, Monaco-based Leonid Fedun sold his roughly 10 percent stake back to Lukoil in early 2025, a rare example of a Russian billionaire selling off his assets in the country.
In August, Lukoil said it would cancel 76 million shares, or about 11 percent of its capital, that it had bought back from the market in 2024-2025. Fedun’s stake was valued at about $7 billion based on market prices, although it is unclear whether that is the amount he received. Lukoil declined a Reuters request for comment, and Fedun could not be reached.
Fedun, 69, became one of Russia’s richest people during the chaotic privatization of the 1990s under the late President Boris Yeltsin after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Fedun, a graduate of a military school, began his career as a teacher in the 1980s when he traveled to Siberia and met with a key Soviet oil executive, Vagit Alekperov.
The two worked together to privatize some of the largest oil fields in Western Siberia after Yeltsin approved their sale in 1993, a move that turned state-owned enterprises into private companies and made some civil servants billionaires overnight.
While Alekperov, as CEO of Lukoil, worked to restore oil production in Russia, Fedun focused on acquisitions at home and abroad. This expansion reached a peak when U.S. giant ConocoPhillips bought a large stake in Lukoil in 2004, but sold it in 2010 to focus on its U.S. business.
Lukoil continued to grow after Vladimir Putin came to power in 2000 and sought to establish state control over strategic industries. The company came under pressure during tax audits that destroyed rival Yukos, but managed to survive.
Like many Russian oligarchs, Fedun invested heavily in Russian football, becoming a major investor in Spartak Moscow.
Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Alekperov resigned as Lukoil’s chief executive after Britain and Australia imposed sanctions on him. That same year, the company said it was “concerned by the tragic events in Ukraine” and supported talks to end the conflict — a rare statement that could be interpreted as criticism of the war.
While Alekperov remained active out of the spotlight, Fedun began to retreat, the sources said. He will step down as vice president in June 2022 and sell his stake in the Spartak football club. Lukoil said at the time that Fedun was leaving due to retirement and family reasons.
A resident of Monaco, Fedun has decided to end his business commitments in Russia, one of the sources added.
Illustrative Photo by Marian Mirea: https://www.pexels.com/photo/gasoline-station-during-nighttime-9455477/
We acknowledge The European Times for the information.
