Rosneft, Russia's biggest crude oil producer, may back out of a deal to purchase Morgan Stanley 's oil trading unit because Western sanctions make it virtually impossible to finance day-to-day operations, three sources close to the state-controlled company said.The people said the chances of the deal going through range from "possible" to "highly unlikely." A spokesman for Rosneft said that "the work over the deal is still ongoing."The business in question trades actual barrels of oil instead of just contracts linked to the price of crude. Morgan Stanley is under U.S. pressure to sell the unit because regulators regard physical oil trading as too risky for a major bank to own because unpredictable events like oil tanker leaks could expose it to billions of dollars in liability.A spokesman for Morgan Stanley declined to comment. Ruth Porat, the bank's chief financial officer, said in July she expected the deal to close later this year. Rosneft declined official comment.
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 fell by 0.11% or $-0.04/share to $34.98. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $26.41 and as high as $36.44. On average, 8879710 shares of MS exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 13351869.
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