The above information attracted attention because the US has imposed sanctions on Lukoil since October, forcing the group to sell all of its assets abroad, estimated at 22 billion USD.
Initially, Lukoil agreed to let Gunvor Group energy group (Sweden) buy back its subsidiary to hold all foreign assets. However, the deal fell apart after the US Treasury Department accused Gunvor of being involved in the Kremlin.
Now, according to the British news agency, the Bergmair billionaire has approached the US Treasury Department to express his intention to consider buying back. Responding through a lawyer, he refused to confirm the specific plan but implicitly expressed interest.
Its clear that Lukoil International GmbH is a great investment, and anyone who owns that amount of assets is lucky, Bergmair said, without revealing which assets he is aiming for or whether he has directly contacted Lukoil. The US Treasury Department declined to comment.
Bergmair was a mysterious majority shareholder of Mind Ge Geek - the parent company of the adult website Pornhub - whose identity was exposed in 2021 after many years of hiding through a network of offshore companies. He sold all of his shares when Mind Geek was bought by a Canadian investment fund in 2023.
The Austrian billionaire now owns assets of about 1.4 billion euros, investing in real estate, agricultural land and many other private deals. His interest in Russian oil and gas assets immediately attracted the attention of the financial world, especially in the context of the energy sector fluctuating strongly due to sanctions.
The US Treasury Department gave a green light to businesses seeking to negotiate the acquisition of Lukoil's international assets last month. Because Lukoil is on the sanctions list, any transaction must be licensed by the US, otherwise all of them will be frozen. The negotiation deadline is until December 13.
Several other large corporations have also expressed interest, including Exxon Mobil and Chevron. However, Lukoil is said to want to sell all assets as a single package, making it difficult for buyers to select only some assets.
In recent statements, Lukoil said it is negotiating with multiple parties.
Russia has always criticized Western sanctions as legitimate and politically motivated. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Lukoil incident showed that US trade restrictions were un acceptable and harmful to international trade.
In that context, the fact that a billionaire once associated with the adult industrial empire jumped into the race to buy Russian oil and gas assets has made the story even more the focus of global media and investors.
