The Sibneft outlook was revised after the announcement that a 72.7% stake in Sibneft was being acquired by the Russian natural gas monopoly Gazprom for $13.1 billion, S&P said in a press release.
The 'BB-' corporate credit rating on Gazprom was affirmed and the company's outlook remains positive.
"The future rating on Sibneft will depend on the relative status of Sibneft's creditors versus those of Gazprom and Sibneft's strategic importance to, and integration with, the Gazprom group," S&P said.
"The outlook revision on Sibneft reflects Standard & Poor's expectation that when the acquisition is completed, Sibneft's credit quality will benefit from its ownership by Gazprom," S&P quoted credit analyst Elena Anankina as saying. "Gazprom's acquisition of Sibneft will further strengthen the company's standing as Russia's largest corporate and key government-linked entity in the country's core oil and gas sector."
According to S&P experts, the acquisition "will enable Gazprom to further diversify into the oil industry, significantly enhance [its] free operating cash flow and improve its resilience to a lower hydrocarbon price scenario."
"We assume that Gazprom will refinance a significant part of the $12 billion bridge loan by the end of 2005, when a $7 billion payment is due from the government-owned vehicle Rosneftegaz for its 10.7% treasury stake," S&P said.
