A consortium led by American billionaire Todd Boehly is preparing a deal to acquire LUKOIL’s international assets by exchanging frozen securities of the Russian oil company. The agreement is expected to be concluded within several weeks, Reuters reported, citing four people familiar with the process.
A bank acting on behalf of the consortium has already purchased several billion dollars’ worth of LUKOIL securities from Western investment funds. According to the sources, the securities were acquired from around 10 American and British funds, as well as from custodian banks holding them for individual investors. The price was around 30 cents per dollar, reflecting the assets’ sanctioned status.
Cashless acquisition of the portfolio
The plan calls for the frozen securities to be exchanged for LUKOIL’s international portfolio. The deal will not involve an upfront cash payment to the Russian company, and the securities are to be placed in a blocked account under US jurisdiction.
The consortium also includes UAE-based International Holding Company and Al Hail Holding, the Al-Hayat brothers, as well as the US International Development Finance Corporation. Representatives of Boehly did not respond to Reuters’ inquiries. International Holding Company said it does not comment on potential investments.
LUKOIL’s international assets include oil fields, refineries and petrol stations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The portfolio was initially valued at around $22 billion, but according to two of the sources, its value has declined after some of the assets ceased operations.
Sale drags on for more than a year
The process began after the US sanctions against LUKOIL in October 2025. Earlier, US authorities blocked an attempt by trading company Gunvor to acquire the portfolio. In January 2026, LUKOIL reached a preliminary agreement with investment firm Carlyle, but in October Carlyle withdrew from active participation in the deal.
In September, the “Financial Times” reported that the proposed sale, worth around $20 billion, had remained without a final decision from the US administration. One source quoted by the newspaper described the situation as follows: “We lost track of this issue. It simply didn’t move.”
If approved, the new deal will bring an end to the more-than-year-long process of selling LUKOIL’s international assets. Reuters notes that the agreement will show whether sanctions can force a major Russian company to withdraw from its foreign operations without the sale resulting in a direct financial benefit for Moscow.