Rosneft's complaint over Schwedt stake sale unlikely to succeed, court says
Adds comment from Rosneft lawyer in Germany
By Matthias Inverardi and Riham Alkousaa
DUESSELDORF/BERLIN, Sept 18 (Reuters) -Russia's Rosneft ROSN.MM is unlikely to succeed with its complaint against Shell's SHEL.L planned sale of a stake in Germany's PCK Schwedt refinery, a German court said on Wednesday, citing a preliminary assessment.
Rosneft holds a 54.17% stake in the refinery, but was stripped of control by the German government in 2022 as a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent severing of energy ties between Germany and Russia.
Shell has announced plans to sell its 37.5% stake in Schwedt to Britain's Prax Group but Rosneft has filed a complaint with the Higher Regional Court of Duesseldorf.
Rosneft argues that under an agreement among Schwedt's ownership consortium existing shareholders have a right of first refusal.
"We see little chance of success for the complaint," Anne Frister of the Duesseldorf court said.
Bertrand Malmendier, Rosneft's lawyer in Germany, said the company was challenging the case because having Prax as a stakeholder in Schwedt could jeopardize the sale of its own stake in the future.
Malmendier said Prax was heavily indebted, had no cash flow and lacked experience in the German market which creates additional challenges.
"We cannot predict what will happen in six months. But we know today that it will make the sale process extremely more difficult and maybe impossible," the lawyer said, adding that the company would appeal to Germany's Federal Court of Justice if the case is dismissed by the Duesseldorf court.
Shell and Prax were not immediately available for comment on the court proceedings.
Germany ended its longstanding and deep energy relationship with Russia in 2022, leaving it to find alternative supply and address assets held by Russian oil and gas firms in the country.
This includes Rosneft's stake in the Schwedt refinery, which covers most of Berlin's fuel demand.
The German government recently extended its trusteeship over Rosneft's stake in the hope a sale might materialise.
Italy's Eni ENI.MI holds a 8.33% stake in the refinery.
Reporting by Matthias Inverardi and Riham Alkousaa; additional reporting by Christoph Steitz and Vladimir Soldatkin; editing by Jason Neely and David Evans
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