AO Yukos Oil Co., Russia's biggest oil producer, agreed to dissolve its $13.9 billion takeover of OAO Sibneft after a dispute over management of the combined company scuttled the country's largest merger

The companies agreed to a new transaction that lets Sibneft shareholders repurchase the 92 percent of Sibneft they sold to Yukos, with Yukos receiving the cash and shares it paid for the stake, Deputy Chief Executive Yuri Beilin said at a press conference in Moscow. Details of the accord are being discussed. Sibneft won't have to pay a $1 billion breakup fee, Beilin said. Canceling the merger may open the way for companies such as Exxon Mobil Corp. to buy stakes in Yukos and Sibneft as international oil producers look for Russian assets to reduce their reliance on Middle East oil. The Yukos-Sibneft takeover collapsed after former Yukos Chief Executive Mikhail Khodorkovsky was jailed Oct. 25 on fraud and tax evasion charges. Shares in Yukos fell 4.26 rubles, or 1.5 percent, to 286 rubles as of 6:45 p.m. on the Moscow interbank currency exchange, the lowest in 12 months compared with closing prices. Sibneft shares rose 9 kopeks, or 0.1 percent, to 79.50 rubles. Yukos is asking Sibneft shareholders to pay an unspecified amount of interest on the $3 billion in cash it paid for part of the Sibneft stake, Beilin said.