Co-founder Fedun sold his stake in Lukoil
26 November 2025 10:10
Leonid Fedun, the co-founder of Lukoil, has sold his stake in the Russian company worth about $7 billion, three sources told Reuters, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
The company has been avoiding Western sanctions for months in connection with Russia’s war against Ukraine, but in October it received a serious blow in the form of US sanctions and is now selling its foreign assets.
Analysts have long considered Lukoil a potential takeover target for state-controlled Rosneft, which is also currently under Western sanctions.
Fedun, who was born in Ukraine and lives in Monaco, sold his stake of about 10% in Lukoil in early 2025, according to two sources close to the deal. This is a rare example of a Russian billionaire quietly selling off his assets.
At the end of August, Lukoil’s board of directors announced that it had decided to cancel 76 million quasi-treasury shares – or about 11% of its capital – that it had bought back on the market in 2024-2025.
According to Reuters estimates based on market prices, the 69-year-old Fedun’s stake was worth about $7 billion, although it is unclear whether he received this amount.
“Lukoil declined to comment. Fedun was unavailable for comment.
Fedun became one of Russia’s richest men during the chaotic privatization of the 1990s under the late President Boris Yeltsin following the collapse of the Soviet Union.
A graduate of a military school, Fedun began his career as a teacher in the 1980s when he traveled to Siberia and met the major Soviet oil executive Vagit Alekperov.
The two worked together to privatize some of the best oil fields in Western Siberia when Yeltsin approved their sale in 1993, turning state-owned enterprises into private companies and some state employees into overnight billionaires.
At the helm of Lukoil, Alekperov worked to restore oil production in Russia, while Fedun focused on acquisitions inside and outside Russia.
This activity led to a major American company, ConocoPhillips, acquiring a large stake in Lukoil in 2004, but selling it in 2010 to focus on its US business.
Lukoil managed to continue expanding its business after Vladimir Putin succeeded Yeltsin in 2000 and began to seek to strengthen state control in strategic industries.
The company was able to avoid the fate of its rival Yukos and its shareholders who had political ambitions.
Like other Russian oligarchs, Fedun allowed himself to spend heavily, becoming one of the largest investors in the Moscow football club Spartak.
When Russia went to war in 2022, Alekperov resigned as president of Lukoil after the UK and Australia imposed sanctions on him.
In March of that year, Lukoil said it was concerned about the “tragic events in Ukraine” and supported negotiations to end the war, making rare public statements against what Moscow calls a special military operation.
But while Alekperov continues to be active behind the scenes in Lukoil’s operations, Fedun has stepped down, three sources said. He stepped down as vice president in June 2022 and sold his stake in Spartak in August. “Lukoil said at the time that Fedun was leaving due to “reaching retirement age and family circumstances,” without disclosing details.
As a resident of Monaco, Fedun decided to reduce his Russian assets, one media source said.
