Reuters details cashless swap for Russian oil giant Lukoil’s overseas assets

A consortium of investors led by U.S. billionaire Todd Boehly is preparing a securities swap to acquire the overseas assets of Russian oil giant Lukoil, Reuters reports, citing four people familiar with the sale process. The sources said they expect a deal within weeks.

Under the proposed cashless deal, frozen Lukoil securities held by Western investors, including U.S. investment company Capital Group, would be exchanged for the Russian company’s overseas assets, which include oil fields, refineries, and gas station networks in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

Western investment funds were major shareholders in Lukoil before 2022, Reuters notes. The shares were later dropped from major emerging market indexes and have since been frozen and written down by Western funds.

A bank acting on behalf of the consortium has already bought billions of dollars’ worth of Lukoil securities. Two people told Reuters that the bank bought the securities from around 10 U.S. and UK investment funds, as well as U.S. depositary banks that held them on behalf of retail investors. The securities changed hands at 30 cents on the dollar, a steep discount reflecting the sanctions.

If completed, the deal would bring to a close a sale process that has dragged on for more than a year. The sanctioned Russian company’s overseas portfolio was initially valued at $22 billion. Its value has since fallen as some assets have ceased operating, two people said.

The U.S. imposed sanctions on Lukoil in October 2025, forcing the company to put its overseas portfolio up for sale. More than a dozen bidders pursued the assets, including oil majors Exxon Mobil and Chevron, private equity group Carlyle, and former Pornhub owner Bernd Bergmair.

In January, U.S. investment group Carlyle reached a preliminary agreement to buy a large share of the assets. But approval stalled, and Carlyle dropped out, leaving Boehly’s consortium as the leading bidder.

The U.S. Treasury Department has insisted that Lukoil should receive no windfall from the sale in shares or cash. Two people said the consortium was able to move forward after promising to put the shares in escrow and keep them from going directly to Lukoil. The Treasury Department did not respond to requests for comment.

Alongside Boehly, who co-owns the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Los Angeles Lakers, the consortium includes Emirati investors International Holding Company and Al Hail Holding, Syrian-born Qatar-based businessmen Moataz and Ramez Al-Khayyat, and the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, a government agency.

Boehly’s representatives did not respond to Reuters’ requests for comment. A spokesperson for International Holding Company said the company does not comment on potential investments. Al Hail, the Al-Khayyat brothers’ company, the DFC, and Lukoil also did not respond to Reuters’ requests for comment. Capital Group declined to comment.