MOSCOW, September 27 - RAPSI, Natalya Belova. The court will hear on November 2 an engineering company's appeal against a lower-court decision to uphold Mosmetrostroy's auction sale, the courts spokesperson told the Russian Legal Information Agency (RAPSI) on Tuesday.

Mosmetrostroy is the general contractor for constructing the Moscow metro.

E4 Group is an engineering company that is part of the RU-COM Group. The group includes over 50 enterprises throughout Russia. It was engaged in the construction of nine nuclear power plant units located in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States.

The Federal Agency for State Property Management and Tsentrstroy, a major Russian construction company and the auctions winner, are defendants in the case.
Mosmetrostroy is a third party in the dispute.

The appeal concerns a controversial auction, which took place on December 23, 2010. The agency sold its 100-percent stake in Mosmetrostroy to Tsentrstroy for $233.74 million after the initial bidding opened at $67.99 million. The deal contributed to the agency's 2010 state property privatization plan worth $556.61 million.

E4 said it was illegally excluded from the bidding after it had already begun.

The Moscow Commercial Court dismissed E4 Groups claim to cancel the bids on May 12. The court of appeals upheld the decision.

It is still unknown whose interests Tsentrstroy represents. In February it became known that Sberbank Investitsii acquired a stake in Tsentrstroy.