Qatar Holding hires UBS for $3 bln VTB deal – sources

Putin wants state asset sales to be held in Russia

DUBAI/LONDON, Feb 26, ( RTRS): Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund has hired UBS to advise on a possible $3 billion investment in Russian state-controlled bank VTB, three people with direct knowledge of the matter said.

Russia’s second-biggest lender, advised by Citigroup, has been working on a capital increase to support day-today operations. Analysts say the Moscow stock exchange is too small to supply VTB’s needs.

Qatar Holding, widely seen as an opportunistic investor, has a history of investing in large banks in need of capital. At the peak of the global financial crisis, it invested in banks such as Barclays and Credit Suisse on terms regarded as favourable to the fund.

“Talks are very advanced”, one of the people told Reuters on Tuesday about Qatar’s discussions with VTB.

The sources said the deal may still be called off on price disagreements — Russian news agency Interfax reported Qatar wanted to invest at a 25 percent discount.

VTB had planned to issue new shares equivalent to at least 10 percent of its equity this spring, raising $1-$3 billion. After President Vladimir Putin last month urged state asset sales be held in Russia, VTB chief executive Andrei Kostin said the deal might be delayed. {ID:nL5N0B0AZT]

VTB shares were down 0.2 percent late on, having traded in a 4 percent range.

One source involved with the situation said while Qatar was an attractive investor, VTB was talking to other sovereign funds. “If they make a co-investment (agreement) with VTB there could be plenty that the Qataris can do (in Russia) which is mutually beneficial — good to attract capital and good for them to have opportunity in Russia,” the source said.

“Qatar relishes these type of investments. They tend to get involved in situ- ations where the seller is seen as a bit desperate and in need of funds. That helps in their negotiations for downside protection and guarantees from seller,” said a banking source who has done business with the sovereign fund.

Bankers are working on a deal that would appeal to Russia and the Qataris, such as mandatory convertible bonds providing Qatar with a substantial return via interest payments, one of the people said.

The sovereign fund, believed to have assets in excess of $100 billion, has been one of the most active institutional investors in recent years, deploying the Gulf nation’s riches from plentiful natural gas to buy stakes in companies ranging from carmaker Porsche to miner Xstrata.

UBS’s mandate from Qatar will be good news for the Swiss bank, which is under pressure to win business and put its investment banking unit back on track after its new head, Andrea Orcel, announced a big restructuring including 10,000 job cuts.