Boehly-Led Group Nears Cashless Swap for Lukoil's Overseas Assets

A consortium fronted by U.S. billionaire Todd Boehly is closing in on Lukoil's overseas empire, and four people close to the sales process say a deal could land within weeks. The structure is unusual: a cashless swap, not a straight purchase. A bank working for the group has already bought up billions of dollars of frozen Lukoil securities from Western investment funds, three of those people told investing.com, with the plan to trade those paper holdings for the Russian oil giant's foreign assets.

The prize is a sprawling portfolio of oilfields, refineries and petrol stations across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. It was first valued at $22 billion when the sale process kicked off more than a year ago, but two people said that number has eroded as some assets stopped operating. The shares the consortium's bank snapped up were priced at just 30 cents on the dollar, a steep discount that reflects their sanctioned, frozen status.

Getting here took maneuvering. Washington sanctioned Lukoil in October 2025, and Reuters reported in February that the U.S. deliberately slowed the sale to squeeze Russia in negotiations over the war in Ukraine. Last December, the U.S. Treasury shot down an offer from a group including U.S. bank Xtellus Partners, saying Lukoil shouldn't walk away with a windfall in shares or cash. The Boehly group unlocked the door by promising to park the shares in an escrow account instead of handing them straight to Lukoil, two people said. The Treasury didn't respond to requests for comment.

Boehly's partners are a global mix. Joining the Miami-based businessman — who owns pieces of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Lakers — are Emirati investors International Holding Company and Al Hail Holding, the Syrian-Qatari Al-Khayat brothers, and the U.S. International Development Finance Corp. Boehly's representatives stayed quiet, IHC said it doesn't discuss potential investments, and Al Hail, the Al-Khayats and the DFC didn't respond to inquiries. Lukoil also didn't immediately comment.

The bidding war was crowded before it thinned out. More than a dozen players chased the assets, including oil majors Exxon Mobil and Chevron, private equity firm Carlyle and former Pornhub owner Bernd Bergmair, according to Reuters. Carlyle walked away last month, leaving Boehly's consortium out front. The bank buying up the securities sourced them from roughly 10 U.S. and British investment funds plus depositary banks holding shares for retail investors, two people said. Capital Group, a major holder, declined to comment.

However it lands, the transaction would be a test case: can Western sanctions force a major Russian company to shed its international operations while Moscow keeps the strategic oil business and sees limited financial gain? The answer, if the swap goes through, arrives in a matter of weeks.