The Russian authorities' attempt to sell the nationalized stake in the major gold mining company Yuzhuralzoloto at the first public auction ended in failure. The official auction for the confiscated assets was declared void due to a complete lack of bids from potential buyers. This event triggered an immediate negative reaction on the stock market, causing a significant drop in the company's share price on the Moscow Exchange.

The Federal Agency for State Property Management auctioned off the 67.2% majority stake, previously owned by businessman Konstantin Strukov and seized in favor of the state by a court decision last summer. The total starting price of the assets was set at 162.02 billion rubles, of which the controlling stake in the gold miner was valued at 140.437 billion rubles. Experts note that the price set by the state included a substantial control premium of almost 30% over the six-month weighted average price of the securities, which could have reduced the lot's investment appeal. The strict selection criteria also required bidders to make a colossal deposit of 32.4 billion rubles, but by the deadline for document submission on May 15, the platform had not registered a single application.

The news of the failed privatization auction led to a sharp decline in the company's stock price, with shares falling by more than 7% during the morning session, reaching 0.6699 rubles per share. Currently, in addition to the state's stake, Gazprombank remains a major co-owner of the business, with a stake of approximately 22%, and just over 10% of the shares are in free float. Initially, the Ministry of Finance expected to replenish the federal budget through this deal before the end of last year, with the Ural Mining and Metallurgical Company (UMMC) being mentioned behind the scenes as the most likely strategic buyer.

The current situation with Yuzhuralzoloto largely mirrors the recent privatization of another strategic asset, Domodedovo Airport, which the state also failed to sell on the first attempt due to a lack of interest in upward bidding. In that case, the authorities were forced to radically change the format and resort to a "Dutch" auction, during which the transport hub's value fell by half from the initial valuation. Ultimately, Domodedovo was purchased by a subsidiary of Sheremetyevo Airport at the minimum permitted price of 66 billion rubles, and it's possible that a similar price reduction mechanism will be applied to the gold mining asset.