ST. PETERSBURG, December 1 (RIA Novosti, Maksim Nichiporenko) - German company Siemens has requested permission from the Russian government to buy a stake in Silovye Mashiny, Russia's leading heavy machinery manufacturer, a chairman of Siemens-Moscow said Thursday.
"We sent a request to the Russian government to find out what percent they would let us purchase, and whether they are against it in general," he said.
"After this we plan to apply to the Federal Antimonopoly Service, and proceed further."
He said it was too early to say how large a stake the company intended to buy.
However, he said the company was very interested in buying a blocking stake in the Russian company.
Russian Economic Development and Trade Minister German Gref said Wednesday he considered Siemens' purchase of a blocking stake in Silovye Mashiny as being a possibility. "If Siemens' talks with Interros [the owner of Silovye Mashiny] are successful, I believe there will be no obstructions at all," Gref said.
Interros owns 74% of shares in Silovye Mashiny, while Siemens holds 4.4%, Lenenergo has 2.57%, and minority shareholders own the remaining 22%.
