Gazprom’s Management Committee convened today its ordinary meeting. In the course of preparations for the September Board of Directors’ meeting, the Management Committee approved a set of documents in regards to an extraordinary General Shareholders’ Meeting (GSM) of Gazprom, to be conducted in absentia with the view of amending Gazprom’s Articles of Association. The GSM issue will be submitted for Gazprom’s Board of Directors’ reviewal.

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Gazprom’s General Shareholders’ Meeting had earlier moved to abolish those items of the corporate Articles that were governing the procedure of buying out shares from other stakeholders by the member owning more than 30% of Gazprom’s share capital.

Under Article 80 of the Joint-Stock Companies Federal Act, a person/entity wishing to acquire 30% or more of shares in a company with over a thousand shareholders is committed to notify in writing said company of these intentions within a set period. After obtaining a right to purchase the shares, the person/entity is obliged by law make a proposition to all other shareholders to sell their shares at a market-based price. Article 80 applies to all the deals on acquisition of every 5% over a 30% stake.

The decision to amend Gazprom’s Articles of Association has stemmed from the RF Government’s proposal to boost the State portion in Gazprom’s charter capital by transferring to the latter a 100% stake of the Rosneft state-run company. At present, Gazprom is more than 30% State-owned. Article 80 allows the State to exempt itself from the liability to buy out shares provided respective amendments are made to a firm’s corporate documentation.

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