Shareholders of Russia's RAO Unified Energy Systems utility have voted to liquidate the company to revive the electricity market and attract desperately needed foreign investment, company executives said.

Anatoly Chubais, chief executive officer of RAO UES, told a news conference this week that shareholders approved the liquidation in a vote last Friday and that by July 1 the company "would cease to exist."

An Associated Press story reported that in exchange for their shares, stakeholders will receive stock in regional generation companies. More than 95 percent of shareholders who voted supported the decision, the company said.

While the state owns 52.3 percent of the company, about 45 percent of its stock is traded on the open market -- far more than other industrial titans in Russian, the AP report said. 

The liquidation process was divided into two phases. In the first, which ended in September, power generation assets were spun off from RAO UES, and 21 new companies created. All except for one -- a company combining hydroelectric stations -- will be controlled by private capital, AP said.

Two companies operating the grid and distribution network were also set up, and these will stay in state hands. Nuclear power plants, not part of the monopoly, will also remain state-owned.

The AP story reported that in the second phase, the numerous non-production subsidiaries of RAO UES will be spun off and merged with other companies in the industry. .

"When in eight months' time RAO UES ceases to exist, we'll have separate energy generation and distribution," said Alexander Kotikov, an energy analyst at investment bank Troika Dialog, "and I believe the reforms will put Russia even ahead of its European peers."