"After the meeting of the Board of Directors, we will announce everything. The price will be fair," Gref said. He also said state representatives and Gazprom management had reached an understanding about this issue.
Last week Gref told reporters a fair price for the government's purchase would be between $6 billion and $8.5 billion.
An international bank, Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein has already valued a Gazprom share at between $3.94 and $4.52. Therefore, it said the block of the Gazprom shares (10.74%) would be between $10.2-$11.5 billion.
However, Morgan Stanley, the valuer on behalf of the state, put a Gazprom share at $3.3 - $3.9 and the block of shares at $8.4 - $9.9 billion.
"Gazprom believes the valuation of its shares by Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein reflects the real market price of the company, considering its optimistic future as a global energy company," Gazprom spokesman Sergei Kupriyanov told RIA Novosti.
A Gazprom press release received by RIA Novosti said the deal to increase the state's share to a controlling interest by selling shares that belong to Rosneftegaz, a Gazprom subsidiary, should be concluded before the annual meeting of Gazprom shareholders on June 24.
Increasing the state's share in Gazprom's authorized capital is a necessary step toward the liberalization of the Russian natural gas market.
The government has arranged for state representatives to sit on Gazprom's Board of Directors. Both Gref and Minister of Industry and Energy Viktor Khristenko are currently on the board.
