Yakunin said he hoped to raise $5-$6.5 billion from the sale of a 75 percent stake in First Freight, Russia's second-largest rail freight operator, and preferred the option of a direct placement after the government hesitated to back a market float.
"Selling (to a strategic buyer) is a much shorter procedure, and because we need that money to invest, I'm in favour of the shorter period of decision and realisation," Yakunin said in an interview.
"But it's not up to me to decide, whether it's IPO or just selling ... the government should decide."
Russia has just embarked on a privatisation drive that seeks to raise over $30 billion during the next three years, raising over a tenth of that figure by selling a minority stake in bank VTB.
The state railways, known by their Russian acronym RZhD, were not included in the initial group of state assets to be put on the block by 2013, but Yakunin said RZhD could come to market sooner with the offering of a minority stake.
"I suppose it may take place earlier than that," he said, adding that given the company's size and the importance to the Russian economy, the government needs to take time to think the process through.
Yakunin, 62, said that even though his contract as CEO expires this year, he wants to complete the projects he started.
He said that if RZhD were to be sold via an initial public offering (IPO), the value of shares the company can issue is around 41.8 billion euros ($57 billion), significantly lower than the company's estimate of around $100 billion before the financial crisis.
Russia plans to offer a stake of up to 25 percent in RZhD, which controls the Trans-Siberian Railway, exports Russia's wealth of natural resources, and needs cash to upgrade aging track, rolling stock and stations.
RZhD raised close to $400 million via the IPO of cargo unit TransContainer last November and has been an active borrower on capital markets as it seeks funding to execute its investment program. (Reuters)
