Bloomberg quoted two people familiar with the matter said billionaire Mr Alisher Usmanov and his partners in OAO Metalloinvest, Russia largest iron ore producer are considering seeking as much as USD 4 billion in an initial public offering in London as early as the first half of next year.

The people said the partners haven’t made a final decision on the potential USD 3 billion to USD 4 billion offering declining to be identified because discussions are private. Ms Yulia Mazanova a spokeswoman for the producer in Moscow and declined to comment.

The Moscow based company said Metalloinvest expects iron ore prices to jump as much as 33% by the end of next year. Metalloinvest plans to boost iron ore output about 20% to 36 million tonnes this year as demand surges in China, the biggest consumer of the steelmaking ingredient.

Mr Usmanov Russia seventh richest man with a fortune of USD 12.4 billion according to Finans magazine owns half of Metalloinvest and has stakes in Facebook Inc investor Mail.Ru Group Ltd, the Arsenal football club and Russian wireless operator OAO MegaFon. Mr Andrei Skotch a lawmaker in Russia lower house of parliament and entrepreneur Mr Vasily Anisimov own 30% and 20% of Metalloinvest respectively.

(Sourced from Bloomberg)