A consortium led by US billionaire Todd Boehly is preparing a cashless securities swap to acquire sanctioned Russian oil major Lukoil's international assets, with a deal expected within weeks, four people close to the sales process said. A bank acting for the consortium has bought billions of dollars of frozen Lukoil securities from around 10 US and British investment funds, US depositary banks and securities held for retail investors. The securities were purchased at 30 cents on the dollar and would be exchanged for Lukoil's foreign portfolio, which was initially valued at $22 billion but has declined in value as some assets stopped operating. The consortium includes Boehly, International Holding Company, Al Hail Holding, the Syrian-Qatari Al-Khayat brothers and the US International Development Finance Corp. The proposal would place the securities in an escrow account rather than transfer them directly to Lukoil, addressing a US Treasury objection to an earlier offer. The sale process began after US sanctions on Lukoil in October 2025. More than a dozen parties initially bid for the assets, including Exxon Mobil, Chevron and Carlyle, but Carlyle exited last month, leaving the Boehly-led group in the lead. The transaction would test whether Western sanctions can force a major Russian company to sell international assets while preserving strategic oil operations and limiting financial gains to Moscow.