Russia's second largest lender VTB will acquire the Zvezda shipbuilding yard from oil company Rosneft but the deal is still in its early stages, VTB CEO Andrei Kostin told Reuters.
VTB is currently running Russia's United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC), Russia's largest shipbuilder, which operates about 40 shipyards, design offices and repair yards across Russia, employing 95,000 staff.
"The deal is at the very beginning. There are basic agreements. And just recently, we signed a trilateral agreement between USC, VTB, and Rosneft regarding the due diligence process," Kostin said.
Zvezda is Russia's most advanced shipbuilding yard, focusing on building large Arc7 ice-class tankers, able to cut through 2-metre thick ice to transport liquified natural gas (LNG) from Arctic projects.
"I think this is a good decision. Consolidating the industry is the right thing to do, and we are committed to participating in this for the long term and seriously," Kostin said.