Russia's top crude oil producer Rosneft said on Tuesday it aimed to complete deal to purchase the majority of global physical oil trading operations from Morgan Stanley in the second half of 2014, as expected. Some industry watchers have expressed doubts the deal will go ahead due to Western sanctions on Russian officials, including Rosneft's head Igor Sechin, over the Ukraine crisis.Rosneft said in emailed comments that the deal with Morgan Stanley was going to plan."The implementation of the deal is going according to the agreed schedule between the companies, including in terms of filing the documentation to the regulatory bodies," Rosneft said.Morgan Stanley sold the majority of its global physical oil trading operations to Rosneft in December, becoming the latest Wall Street firm to dispose of a major part of its commodity business. The parties did not disclose the price.
Morgan Stanley is a global financial services company that, through its subsidiaries and affiliates, provides its products and services to a range of clients and customers, including corporations, governments, financial institutions and individuals. Shares of MS traded higher by 0.87% or $0.26/share to $30.25. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $21.54 and as high as $33.52. On average, 13214400 shares of MS exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 3329984.
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