SPF official says new Luhanskteplovoz auction could be held in April

State Property Fund Deputy Head Aleksandr Potimkov said yesterday that a new auction to sell the 76% stake in Luhanskteplovoz (LTPL) recently returned to the government could be held in April 2010. Potimkov said that an official announcement might be published by the end of the year, but that a 75 day period would be required afterward, meaning that the auction could be held as early as March 2010, but most likely in April. The SPF announced last week that it had put a new auction for the Luhanskteplovoz stake on the calendar for December. The SPF has also said it would hold a tender to select an appraiser for the Luhanskteplovoz stake on December 2. The SPF sold the stake to Bryansk Heavy Machinery, part of Russia’s Transmashholding, in March 2007, but that auction was ruled illegal by the Economic Court of Luhansk this September and shares were returned to the SPF in early November. Yegor Samusenko: We don’t think any privatization auction will be announced before elections in January. In our view, the news is stock-neutral.