Gazprom to sell stake in Germany’s VNG

MOSCOW, April 7, 2015 – Gazprom will sell its 10.52-percent stake in German natural gas supplier VNG, the Russian company said on Monday.

Wintershall Holding, a subsidiary of German chemicals producer BASF, announced plans last year to sell its stake in VNG, bowing out of a blocking stake of 26.31 percent jointly held with Gazprom.

Following the sale, the Russian gas major was “unable to take real participation in managing VNG,” a company spokesperson said.

The move is part of Gazprom’s broader strategy of divesting its European operations in response to strained relations over the conflict in Ukraine. Its most visible change of course came last year, when the company cancelled plans for the subsea South Stream pipeline to Bulgaria, opting instead for a route through Turkey.

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