Staff Writer National power grid Unified Energy Systems (Russia) is close to acquiring stakes in a number of Ukrainian utilities

Staff Writer National power grid Unified Energy Systems (Russia) is close to acquiring stakes in a number of Ukrainian utilities, a company spokesman confirmed Friday. The UES statement comes amid speculation that a deal worth up to $100 million has already been sealed. "At present [UES] has completed preliminary negotiations on acquiring stakes in a number of power companies in Ukraine," UES spokesman Andrei Yegorov said. Earlier on Friday, Vedomosti reported that UES had already completed the deals, citing a top Russian investment banker close to the negotiations. According to the paper, UES has already acquired a 40 percent stake in each of five Ukrainian regional distribution companies from structures close to embattled Ukrainian oligarch Konstantin Grigirishin. The companies are Lvivoblenergo, Poltavoblenergo, Sumyoblenergo, Chernigovoblenergo and Prikarpatoblenergo. Yegorov neither confirmed nor denied this report, calling it "premature." The chairman of the Ukrainian State Property Fund, Mikhail Chechetov, refuted the Vedomosti report.Last week Ukrainian Fuel and Energy Minister Sergei Yermilov called the Russian company's participation in the privatization process "an absurdity" as long as UES is not restructured and continues to be a state monopoly.