Having absorbed multi-billion dollar oil company Sibneft into its fold, Russia's state-owned gas titan Gazprom is now considering selling off the brand name in a lucrative deal.
Earlier this year the gas giant bought a 75.7% stake in Sibneft for $13.7 billion to take control of the former independent oil producer. Now, according to reports in Russia, Gazprom is looking to sell the Sibneft brand for up to $500 million as it does not see any value in continuing to use the name.
We have only one brand – Gazprom, and we plan to develop it, Russian news agency Novosti quoted a Gazprom representative as saying. It is unreasonable to invest in the Sibneft brand, as well as to simply eliminate it, he added.
However many industry experts believe Gazprom’s valuation is too high and the Sibneft brand is simply not worth half a billion dollars.