Algerian-born Mokhtar Belmokhtar has been fighting as an Islamist militant for more than two decades.
One man in particular, though, fits the description of a crony perfectly: Syed Mokhtar al-Bukhary.
Chad has said that, along with Abdelhamid Abou Zeid, veteran Islamist leader Mokhtar Belmokhtar was also killed.
Mokhtar Belmokhtar's death was announced on Chadian state television but has not been confirmed by other sources.
Mr Mokhtar added that the divestments were aimed at making government-linked companies become "stronger and more competitive".
Mauritanian website Sahara Media says Mokhtar Belmokhtar, the suspected organiser of the siege, has claimed responsibility for it in a video message.
BBC: Algeria crisis: Hostage-takers 'taken alive' at gas plant
The Chadian army - fighting alongside French forces - has claimed it killed Abou Zeid and fellow militant Mokhtar Belmokhtar in recent fighting.
BBC: Islamist commander Abou Zeid's death in Mali 'probable'
The Chadian army fighting alongside French forces claimed earlier this month it had killed Abou Zeid and fellow militant Mokhtar Belmokhtar in fighting in February.
Lakhdar Brahimi's deputy Mokhtar Lamani held talks with the head of the rebel Revolutionary Military Council to the north of Damascus, a UN official said.
However, both the alleged organiser of Wednesday's attack, Algerian militant Mokhtar Belmokhtar, and the prospect of a drawn-out kidnapping saga, are darkly familiar to the Algerian authorities.
Khazanah's managing director, Azman Haji Mokhtar, said the Proton deal was "another significant milestone in our strategic divestment programme as it represents the largest in size to date".
Chad had said its soldiers, fighting alongside the French troops, killed two top militant commanders, Abdelhamid Abou Zeid from al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, and veteran Islamist leader Mokhtar Belmokhtar.
Confusion continues to surround the fate of both Abou Zeid and Mokhtar Belmokhtar, but Chad's President Idriss Deby appeared on television on Monday evening to insist that both men were dead.
BBC: Islamist commander Abou Zeid's death in Mali 'probable'
Algerian Interior Minister Daho Ould Kablia said the kidnappers were Algerian and operating under orders from Mokhtar Belmokhtar, a senior commander of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) until late last year.
BBC: Algeria siege: 'Victims' as army tries to free hostages
Algerian Interior Minister Daho Ould Kablia said the kidnappers were Algerian and operating under orders from Mokhtar Belmokhtar, who was a senior commander of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) until late last year.
Algerian police say it was organised by Mokhtar Belmokhtar, a militant leader who recently fell out with al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), which originated in Algeria but now operates throughout the Sahara and Sahel regions.
On Saturday the Chadian army said its troops in the same region had killed Mokhtar Belmokhtar - the veteran Islamist leader who was behind the attack on a gas plant in Algeria in January in which at least 37 hostages were killed.
Mr Kablia said that the kidnappers were Algerian and operating under orders from Mokhtar Belmokhtar, a senior commander of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) before late last year, when he set up his own armed group after apparently falling out with other leaders.
Algerian Interior Minister Daho Ould Kablia said that the kidnappers were Algerian and operating under orders from Mokhtar Belmokhtar, a senior commander of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) before late last year, when he set up his own armed group after apparently falling out with other leaders.
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