Roman’s oil share blues

Chelsea football club’s billionaire Russian owner found his fortune a little depleted yesterday.

In a fresh blow to Russia’s financial markets, oil giants Yukos and Sibneft announced that they had suspended their merger, which would have created the world’s fourth-largest oil producer.

Yukos share prices plunged 10% and Sibneft shares by 6% within an hour of the announcement, and other companies’ share prices were also falling.

Sibneft’s main shareholders, including Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich, have already paid cash and swapped their shares to become owners of 26.01% of Yukos.