Interros interested in Norilsk stake if this put up for sale
Friday, 26 Jun 2009
A source at Interros told Interfax that Vladimir Potanin's Interros is happy with the current equity distribution at MMC Norilsk Nickel but would be prepared to buy the stake owned by Oleg Deripaska's United Company RUSAL if this is put up for sale.
The Source said that "The current status quo suits us fine and we're not keen to see any changes in the Norilsk shareholder set-up. But we've always said that we are interested in the stake that used to belong to Mikhail Prokhorov and this is still the case.”
According to a filing that the businessman himself made with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, RUSAL owns 25% plus two shares and Potanin controls 25% plus one share in Norilsk.
RUSAL's stake is held by Vnesheconombank as collateral for a USD 4.5 billion loan that the aluminum giant took out last autumn to refinance an earlier loan from foreign banks that RUSAL used to find the purchase of the Norilsk stake from Prokhorov.
Russia's Vedomosti and Kommersant newspapers Tuesday said Potanin was interested in RUSAL's stake in Norilsk. Most of the Interros stake has also been pledged as loan security, with VTB and the newspapers did not say how much Interros might be prepared to pay for RUSAL's stake. Interros itself was unavailable for comment.
Another source close to Interros told Vedomosti that Mr Potanin was prepared to involve partners Uralkali owner Mr Dmitry Rybolovlev or Siberian Coal and Energy Company's Mr Andrei Melnichenko and Mr Sergei Popov in the potential deal to buy RUSAL's stake. If it does, Interros would not own more than 30% of Norilsk: Uralkali and SUEK would buy 20% of Norilsk between them in this scenario and Potanin would not have to offer to buy minority shareholders out.
