2016.12.0722:01:00UTC+00Glencore, Qatar Acquires Stake in Russia’s Rosneft

Russia announced that it sold a 19.5% stake in Rosneft, the country's biggest oil firm, to commodities trader Glencore and Qatar's sovereign wealth fund.

The transaction is estimated to be worth around 10.5 billion euros or $11.3 billion. BP already has a 19.75% position in the state-owned oil company.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin has discussed the deal, according to Kremlin. The Russian government will still hold the controlling shares in Rosneft.

The sale is part of the Russia's plan to sell some of the government-owned assets to aid in bringing in cash to the economy amid a two-year recession brought by a plunge in global oil prices and sanctions by international groups.

Moscow had long indicated it would sell a stake in the oil producer, but has long delayed the deal, causing the deadline the for the sale to be missed. However, Moscow was prompted to move due to the cash squeeze caused by the recession and to end speculation that Rosneft was having difficulty finding a bidder.