The owners of Russian oil firm Russneft confirmed on Sunday they were in talks to sell the company and were close to reaching a deal with billionaire Oleg Deripaska.
"The owners of Russneft have transferred control in the company to a number of investment structures, which were holding talks with a number of contenders," president of bank BIN, Mikhail Shishkhanov, said through a spokesman.
"We would be happy if Basel becomes the new owner," said Shishkhanov, who is a business partner of Mikhail Gutseriyev, the founder of Russneft and BIN. Basel, Deripaska's investment vehicle, confirmed on Friday it had filed for permission with Russia's antimonopoly agency to buy control in Russneft.
Russneft, which produces 300,000 barrels of oil per day, had previously denied its shareholders were planning to sell out. Sources close to the talks have said Deripaska would pay around $6.5 billion for Russneft, including $3 billion cash and assuming the company's heavy debt.
Gutseriyev, whose personal fortune is valued at $3 billion by US magazine Forbes, will also step down as Russneft's president this week, the sources said.