The foreign media wrote that the transaction of privatization of 19.5% of Russian Rosneft became a surprise for markets and symbolized the “triumph for President Vladimir Putin” during the validity of anti-Russian sanctions – RIA News reports.

On Wednesday, Rosneft’s CEO Igor Sechin reported RF President Vladimir Putin on the completion of transaction of privatization of 19.5% shares of the largest Russian oil company for EUR 10.5 bln. Glencore and Qatar Investment Authority became the purchasers and strategic investors.

Unexpected triumph.

“Glencore and Qatar Investment Authority will become the owners of 19.5% shares of the Russian oil company Rosneft as the result of unexpected transaction for EUR 10.5 billion, which marked the triumph of President Vladimir Putin”, Financial Times reports.

As emphasized by The Guardian, the news about this transaction became “a surprise for markets”, as recently, due to low prices for raw materials; the company was burdened with debt load, which at some point reached 30 billions of dollars. Even the fact, that Glencore CEO claimed in December that active measures on reducing expenses were competed, did not anyhow influence market expectations.

“Previously Sechin said that Chinese and Kazakh bidders will likely obtain their company shares, but Glencore and Qatar Investment Authority emerged out of nowhere and offered more beneficial terms”, Forbes reports.

The Guardian emphasizes that it was announced about this transaction, when stock exchanges already closed. “The company shares finished trading at 1% higher, as the news about this transaction appeared after the official close of exchange”, Forbes reports.

Luckily, amid sanctions.

According to Daily Telegraph, Swiss company Glencore and Qatar Investment Authority “became the first international investors, who acquired shares of Russia’s largest oil producing company after the sanctions were imposed on the country’s economy”. Financial Times notes that the transaction is completed “in spite of all financial and technology sanctions against Rosneft, which should presumably prevent western companies from participation in the transaction of sale of shares of the Russian oil producer, even though sanctions do not forbid it”.

Bloomberg agency also calls this transaction unexpected and notes that EU sanctions look more “shabby”. In its turn, Wall Street Journal emphasizes that the transaction became a “luck” for RF President, “whose country is under US and EU sanctions”, due to the situation in Ukraine.

“Russia counted mainly on China in terms of investments, Chinese and Indian state energy companies were also considered as potential purchasers of Rosneft shares, however the transaction showed that the Kremlin has other options”, the edition reports.

The relationships of Russia and the West worsened due to the situation in Ukraine. First EU countries imposed individual sanctions on physical persons, then sectoral restrictive measures, which affected the whole industries. In return, Russia restricted import of food products from EU countries. Since then, EU sanctions were regularly prolonged, last time – until late January 2017.