Media: Lukoil co-founder Fedun sells stake back to company

Leonid Fedun, a co-founder of Lukoil, has divested his roughly 10% holding in the Russian oil producer, completing an exit from the firm he helped build into a global player over three decades.

Three people familiar with the matter said the Monaco-based billionaire sold his stake back to the company in early 2025, according to corporate filings reviewed by Reuters.

The sale — estimated at around $7 billion based on prevailing market prices — marks one of the few cases of a Russian tycoon unwinding a major domestic asset quietly amid heightened Western sanctions. It is not known whether Fedun received the full market value.

Lukoil, which has been under growing sanctions pressure over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, declined to comment. Fedun could not be reached.

Sanctions and strategic uncertainty

After months of avoiding direct restrictions, Lukoil was hit by Western measures in October, prompting the company to accelerate divestments of overseas assets. Analysts have long viewed Lukoil as a potential takeover candidate for state-controlled Rosneft, itself under Western sanctions, though no formal moves have been made.

In August, Lukoil said it would cancel 76 million shares — about 11% of its capital — acquired in buybacks between 2024 and 2025. People close to the transaction said these repurchases were partly linked to Fedun’s exit.

A gradual withdrawal

Fedun, now 69, was among the businessmen who rose to prominence during the turbulent privatisation era of the 1990s. A former military school graduate and lecturer, he met Vagit Alekperov — the future CEO of Lukoil — during a trip to Siberia in the 1980s. The pair later helped privatise key oilfields in West Siberia after President Boris Yeltsin approved their sale in 1993, setting the foundations for what became Russia’s second-largest oil producer.

While Alekperov focused on restoring domestic production, Fedun led Lukoil’s international expansion drive. That strategy culminated in U.S. major ConocoPhillips taking a significant stake in 2004 — a partnership that gradually unwound as the American company shifted back to its domestic portfolio.

Lukoil continued to expand during Vladimir Putin’s consolidation of state influence in strategic sectors in the 2000s, navigating tax probes and avoiding the fate of Yukos, whose collapse reshaped the oil industry.

Fedun also became a prominent figure in Russian sports, investing heavily in Spartak Moscow football club, which he later sold in 2022.

Shifts after the Ukraine invasion

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 marked a turning point for the company’s leadership. Alekperov resigned after Britain and Australia sanctioned him, while Lukoil issued a rare public statement expressing concern over the “tragic events in Ukraine” and calling for negotiations.

Following his resignation as Lukoil vice-president in mid-2022, Fedun increasingly stepped back from public life, sources said. A move to scale down his Russian business interests followed as he settled in Monaco. Lukoil at the time attributed his departure to retirement age and family considerations.

Although Alekperov continues to play an influential role behind the scenes, Fedun’s sale effectively concludes his three-decade involvement in one of Russia’s most internationally recognised energy companies.

By Aghakazim Guliyev