Yukos shares rise on bid denials

Yukos shares rose more than 10% on Monday as Russia's leading energy firms said they would not bid for its main west Siberian production subsidiary.

The oil and gas group is battling to keep control of its Yuganskneftegaz division which bailiffs want to seize and sell to pay off massive tax debts.
Shares also rose on unconfirmed reports that Yukos's main production unit has been priced at up to $17.3bn (£9.7bn).
Investors had feared the subsidiary could be sold for less than fair value.
Potential buyers?
Yukos has repeatedly asked for more time to pay off its tax bill but analysts believe that the most likely outcome remains that Yukanskneftegaz will be sold.
However, Lukoil, TNK-BP and Surgutneftegaz - some of the country's biggest producers - have all said they are not interested in buying it. Natural gas giant Gazprom, seen as one of the strongest contenders, has also said it does not want to buy the unit.
Russian president Vladimir Putin has said there were no plans to renationalise Yukos but it is thought likely that the firm's assets will be sold to a state company.
The Yukos saga does not appear to have completely dented Western investor confidence in Russia.
Last week US firm ConocoPhillips bought a stake in Russian's second biggest producer Lukoil, and Total has recently bought into gas producer Novatek.
But analysts believe Western oil firms would be unlikely to bid for an asset that Yukos has repeatedly said it would defend through the courts.
Debt burden
Yukos has been hit with $3.4bn in back taxes for 2000 - with possibly similar amounts due for each of the succeeding years.
The ongoing battle with the government is seen by many observers as stemming from former boss Mikhail Khodorkovsky's support for opposition political parties.
He was arrested in October last year and is currently in jail facing charges of fraud and tax evasion.
Yukos, which has had its bank accounts frozen, is estimated to have paid off about $2bn of its debts.

(From : BBC News)