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A consortium led by American billionaire Todd Boehly is preparing to buy the international business of Russian oil company Lukoil PJSC through a swap of frozen Lukoil shares, with a deal expected within weeks, according to four people close to the sale.
A bank acting for the group has bought billions of dollars of Lukoil securities that have been frozen since Western sanctions on Russia from about 10 U.S. and British investment funds and U.S. depositary banks that held them for retail investors. The shares were bought at about 30 cents on the dollar, a price that reflects their sanctioned status. Under the plan, the securities would be exchanged for Lukoil's foreign assets, meaning no cash would change hands. To move the deal forward, the consortium has promised to place the shares in an escrow account rather than hand them directly to Lukoil, two of the people said.
Lukoil's international portfolio was initially valued at $22 billion. It includes oilfields, refineries and fuel stations in Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia, Africa and the Americas. Two people said its value has fallen because some of the assets have stopped operating.
Who is in the group
Boehly, the Miami-based co-founder of investment firm Eldridge Industries, has partners from the Gulf. They include International Holding Co., the Abu Dhabi conglomerate, and Al Hail Holding, both from the United Arab Emirates, as well as the Syrian-Qatari Al-Khayat brothers. The U.S. International Development Finance Corp., the government's development lender, is also backing the bid.
International Holding Co. said it does not comment on potential investments.
A sale forced by sanctions
Lukoil, Russia's second-largest oil producer, put its foreign business up for sale after the U.S. imposed sanctions on it in October 2025 over Russia's war in Ukraine. The process has dragged on for more than a year. More than a dozen companies bid for the assets, including Exxon Mobil Corp., Chevron Corp. and The Carlyle Group Inc.
Lukoil agreed early this year to sell the assets to Carlyle, a deal that needed approval from Washington. Carlyle dropped out last month, leaving Boehly's group in the lead. Last December, the Treasury rejected an offer from a group that included Xtellus Partners, saying Lukoil "should not receive a windfall from the sale in shares or cash." The U.S. slowed the sale earlier this year partly to put pressure on Russia in talks to end the war in Ukraine.
Western funds held large amounts of Lukoil stock before Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. Those shares were later dropped from major emerging-market indexes and written down, leaving foreign investors with holdings they could not sell.
Lukoil's African oil and gas
The portfolio includes several assets in Africa. In Egypt, Lukoil owns 50% of the West Esh El Mallaha concessions with Tharwa Petroleum and 24% of the Meleiha concession operated by Eni SpA. It holds 25% of the Marine XII block in the Republic of Congo, also operated by Eni, which produces oil and liquefied natural gas. It also has interests in offshore exploration blocks in Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon.
Outside Africa, the business includes a 75% stake in Iraq's West Qurna-2 oilfield, stakes in the Karachaganak and Tengiz fields in Kazakhstan, the Neftohim Burgas refinery in Bulgaria, the Petrotel refinery in Romania and a 45% share of the Zeeland refinery in the Netherlands.
Boehly's empire
Boehly, 53, built his fortune in finance and insurance. He co-founded Eldridge Industries in 2015, and the group's holdings include Security Benefit Life Insurance Co. and Penske Media Eldridge, a venture that owns the South by Southwest festival. He owns 20% of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team and a stake in the Los Angeles Lakers basketball team, which he bought alongside Dodgers controlling owner Mark Walter in 2021.
In September, he sold his interest in English Premier League club Chelsea to co-owner Clearlake Capital and stepped down as the club's chairman after four years. Forbes estimated his net worth at $9.3 billion in March.
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