Gazprom acquired NTV, Russia's only nationwide state-independent television station from Vladimir Gusinsky's company, Media-Most holdings. In 2002, the Gazprom subsidiary Gazprom Media acquired all of Gusinsky's shares in companies held by Media-Most. In September 2005, Gazprom bought 72.633 percent of the oil company Sibneft for $13.01 billion. Sibneft was renamed Gazprom Neft. The purchase was aided by a $12 billion loan. Gazprom became Russia's largest company. On the day of the deal the company worth was valued at £69.7 billion (US$123.2 billion.) In December 2006, Gazprom signed an agreement with Royal Dutch Shell, Mitsui and Mitsubishi, to take over fifty percent
Gazprom is Gazprom Export LLC, founded in 1973 and before November 1, 2006 known as Gazexport, which has a monopoly on gas exports to countries outside of the former Soviet Union. The majority of Russian gas in Europe is sold on 25 year contracts. In late 2004, Gazprom was the sole gas supplier to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Estonia, Finland, Macedonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Serbia and Slovakia. It provided 97 percent of Bulgaria's gas, 89 percent of Hungary's gas, 86 percent of Poland's gas, nearly 75 percent of the Czech Republic's, 67 percent of Turkey's, 65 percent of Austria's, about 40 percent