Stalking horse

I am not familiar with all the subtleties of Russian infighting, but from your sentence, Gazprom is using their plans for re-routing oil pipelines in the Baikal region as an excuse to accomplish something else, possibly nefarious. The 'stalking horse' is a false reason for their actions in that region.

Oh, I am sorry, Mr Micawber. I should've given you more context. You might haven't heard of this news.

Actually, this is about Russia's auctioning off its largest oil producer, Yukos. Surprisingly, a mysterious and completely unknown company Baikal Finance Group eventually won the bid. However, Gazprom which was expected would end up the owner of Yuganskneftegas assets didn't even make

And there's an important point just coming up to my mind when I'm still messing around the web. I think I have to throw that in. It may have some connection with 'stalking horse'.

You know, the United States Bankruptcy Court in Houston issued an injunction on Thursday against all bidders and lenders in the auction. That caused Deutsche Bank and others in a lending syndicate to withdraw

Hi Jeff,

Thanks for taking the time to explain so well. Even though I know little about international finance, I think I get the idea.

To your original question, I think that Ronald Smith's remark 'that Baikal could be a stalking horse for Gazprom' refers to your earlier post:

'Surprisingly, a mysterious and completely unknown company Baikal Finance Group eventua

Oh, thank you, Mr. Micawber. It dawned on me.

So, the stalking horse will do good for Gazprom, not bad. In other words, the stalking horse will conceal and protect Gazprom, and Gazprom will benifit from that, say, winning the time to amass enough money overseas. Do I get it right?

From what you have said before, that's likely true. In any case, I see that you get the idea of 'stalking horse'.

Thank you.

But, is it an idiom or just business terminology?

It's an idiom, Jeff, but it has developed a specific business meaning which I just discovered (see below):

STALKING-HORSE Definition:

1. [n] a horse behind which a hunter hides while stalking game
2. [n] screen consisting of a figure of a horse behind which a hunter hides while stalking game
3. [n] something serving to conceal plans; a fictitious reason that is

Merry Christmas, Mr. Micawber!!!

Frankly, I was not able to catch it completely. In your post, you point out that 'stalking horse bid' is a strategy that bankrupt companies use to avoid low bids on their assets. But the case I was referring to is a little different, I think. That stalking horse, Baikal Group, was choosen by some other company, not Yukos unit (a bankrupt compan

As I said, international finance is not my forte, Jeff-- I pulled the general definition and the business definition off internet sites, and I leave it to your better understanding of high finance to decide who is whose 'stalking horse' and why.

...And a Happy New Year!