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| Severstal buys US facility from ArcelorMittal |
Severstal has completed the acquisition of the US-based company Sparrows Point from ArcelorMittal, the Russian steelmaker said in a press statement. The deal has received all required approvals from the US authorities, including the Department of Justice and the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.
As reported earlier, ArcelorMittal was forced to surrender the US-based facility due to monopoly charges. Sparrows Point's capacity amounts to 3.6m tonnes of steel a year. This acquisition opens up a strategic opportunity for Severstal to strengthen its foothold in the US. It is expected that the facility would interact with Severstal's other enterprises located in Dearborn (Michigan) and Columbus (Mississippi). In addition, the new acquisition located near Baltimore (Maryland) enables direct ocean transportation and is within easy reach of major road and rail communications in the US.
RBC-News
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| RusAl Wage Talks in Jamaica |
United Company RusAl, the world's largest aluminum producer, said Thursday that its Jamaican bauxite and alumina plant was operating normally and that wage talks with a labor union were ongoing.
The plant, operated by Alumina Partners of Jamaica, has two unions, with one already agreeing to renew workers' contracts, said Halvor Molland, a spokesman for Norsk Hydro. Hydro owns 35 percent of the plant. RusAl, owner of the majority stake, commented separately in an e-mailed statement. "There is no immediate risk of production disturbances," Molland said. Talks are over the renewal of a three-year contract, he said.
Bloomberg
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| Deripaska Hires British Equestrian Pro
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Billionaire Oleg Deripaska has enlisted the help of a prominent British bloodstock agent to create a stable there, The Sunday Telegraph reported.
An unidentified friend of Deripaska's confirmed that Russia's richest man had purchased two racehorses in Britain and was using James Wigan for "advice and expertise on racing," the newspaper said.
Deripaska, who owns United Company RusAl through his Basic Element holding, said last month that in his childhood, he tended horses before school on his grandparents' farm near Krasnodar.
He now owns "a large number of racehorses stabled in Russia, near the Black Sea," the friend said.
The report sited another source as saying the two were introduced by Nathaniel Rothschild, co-chairman of New York hedge fund firm Atticus Capital.Wigan, who works for London Thoroughbred Services, has been employed by Nathaniel Rothschild's father to add mares to his Waddesdon Stud in Hertfordshire, the report said.
The Moscow Times
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| Deripaska Weighing Udokan Bid |
Billionaire Oleg Deripaska is considering a bid for a huge Siberian copper field that may pitch him into competition or partnership with Russian Railways and Norilsk Nickel.
Daniel Major, head of the resources division of Deripaska's Basic Element company, said Thursday that the firm would make a final decision next week on whether to participate in the July 17 contest for the Udokan deposit.
He said Basic Element would also consider participating in a joint venture to develop Udokan, which could produce equivalent to 15 percent of the country's current annual copper output.
"We haven't internally yet fully decided our position, but that doesn't preclude us either way," Major said. "It's the biggest copper deposit in Russia, so we'd be crazy not to be interested in it."
The starting price for the auction is 4.5 billion rubles ($194 million), and all bidders must register their interest by Wednesday. The Natural Resources Ministry estimates that Udokan contains 13.4 million tons of extractable copper.
Norilsk Nickel, the country's largest copper miner, has said it will bid for Udokan. Russian Railways and Russian Technologies are also potential bidders.
The cost of developing the project and related infrastructure has led analysts to suggest a consortium might win.
"It is a large amount of risk to take on. The technology is interesting — it's not a simple copper project technologically — and therefore diversification of risk is not a bad thing."
The Moscow Times
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| Raspadskaya Eyes London Share Sale |
Raspadskaya, the country's second-largest producer of coal for steelmakers, may sell shares in London to expand mines and increase exports after prices tripled in a year.
Chief executive Gennady Kozovoi, who has a 20 percent stake in the company, said Wednesday that he wanted to expand sales "steadily" into China, Japan and South Korea.
Raspadskaya increased 257 percent in Moscow trading in the past year, valuing the company at $6.6 billion. The shares rose 10.23 rubles, or 4.8 percent, to close at 222.07 rubles ($9.32) in Moscow trading.
The company plans to expand its mines in the Kemerovo region and develop sites where it has mining licenses. Raspadskaya produced 13.6 million tons of coal in 2007 and full-year profit more than doubled to $239 million.
"If the company has some kind of an expansion, we may look to sell some more shares in London," Kozovoi said. "Right now, we don't need the money."
Bloomberg
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| NLMK buys two steel companies for 77 milion euro |
Novolipetsk Steel, or NLMK, secured European anti-monopoly approval to buy two steel trading companies for 77 million euros ($119 million) to expand exports.
Bloomberg
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| Mechel shareholders decide on potential share issue |
Mechel shareholders have passed a decision regarding 138,756,916 declared preferred registered uncertificated shares with a par value of RUB 10 (approx. USD 0.42) for a total amount of RUB 1,387,569,150 (approx. USD 58m), which the company may potentially issue, the Russian steel and mining group said in a statement.
Shareholders also approved changes and additions to the Articles of Association in relation to new provisions on declared preferred shares and the rights such shares provide to their holders.
RBC-News
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| Deripaska Is Sued |
LONDON -- Billionaire Oleg Deripaska owes former business partner Michael Cherney at least $3 billion after failing to honor an agreement concerning stakes in aluminum companies, lawyers for Cherney told a London court hearing.
Geoffrey Voss, a Cherney lawyer, outlined at a Wednesday hearing a 2001 business agreement that his client claims took place to exchange part of Siberian Aluminum for a future interest in Russian Aluminum, which later merged with rivals to create United Company RusAl.
Deripaska has said he was never in a partnership with Cherney "in any commercial sense of that word," Voss said, quoting from submissions by Deripaska's lawyers. "Mr. Deripaska has sought, because of his power and influence, to rewrite history," Voss said.
Deripaska's lawyers will reply to the claims by Uzbek-born Cherney, formerly known as Mikhail Chernoi, at a later hearing. He denies any wrongdoing in the case.
Voss also refuted claims by Deripaska's lawyers in court filings that Cherney's credibility is questionable because he is involved in organized crime, saying his client has never been prosecuted. A "serious" charge in Switzerland was dropped this year when a court ruled that the allegations were "founded on rumor with no substance to them," Voss said. "The bare facts are that Mr. Cherney has never been prosecuted to trial or convicted of any crime anywhere in the world."
Bloomberg
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| Norilsk to Bid for Udokan |
Norilsk Nickel's board on Tuesday gave approval for the company to bid at a July 17 auction for the nation's largest untapped copper field, Udokan, spokeswoman Yelena Kovalyova said.
Kovalyova declined to comment on a report in Kommersant that the company agreed in principle to bid in a group with Metalloinvest and state-owned Russian Technologies.
Bloomberg
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| Norilsk Nickel to ponder major alliance, experts say |
Norilsk Nickel's minority shareholders are interested in forming an alliance with Gazmetall and Metalloinvest, experts told RBC TV today. They note that these companies are pricing Norilsk Nickel much higher than its current market value. A merger between UC RUSAL and Norilsk Nickel is less favorable for minority shareholders, as the latter is expected to be undervalued in this case, analysts say. At the same time, a merger between Norilsk Nickel and Metalloinvest is unlikely if it does not involve UC RUSAL, experts note. The news that UC RUSAL, Norilsk Nickel, and Metalloinvest are planning joint activities is a confirmation of the three companies' intention to merge. Meanwhile, some experts believe that Norilsk Nickel's shares will remain volatile in the short run.
As of 11:20 a.m., Norilsk Nickel slid 1.31 percent on MICEX and remained unchanged on the RTS.
RBC-News
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| RusAl Sees Glencore As Russneft Partner |
Billionaire Oleg Deripaska said he wanted to form a partnership with Glencore International, the world's largest commodity trader, to run Russneft, should he succeed in purchasing the crude producer.
The media-shy business mogul, with interests stretching from metals and oil to airports and cement, also said the West should stop fearing Russia.
"I see no political risks [after May 7]. Living in Russia makes me confident," he told reporters.
He said he was convinced that Vladimir Putin would remain fully in charge until 2020, even though he is stepping down as president May 7, and that the economy would expand 7 percent to 8 percent per year through that period.
"[President-elect Dmitry Medvedev's] role is important. But you need to understand — it's a big challenge to take responsibility. As I understand, Putin accepted this responsibility to develop 2020 goals," Deripaska, who spoke mostly in English, said Friday in comments that were embargoed for publication Sunday.
He also suggested that competitors were behind his U.S. visa difficulties and said he had dropped a project with General Motors to develop a car for the Russian market.
Deripaska, the country's richest man according to Forbes magazine, requested approval from the Federal Anti-Monopoly Service to buy Russneft last year through his holding company, Basic Element. He said permission from the service could take several more months.
Glencore, based in Switzerland, is seeking separate anti-monopoly approval to buy shares in production subsidiaries of Russneft, the company said in October. Deripaska's and Glencore's filings came weeks after Russian officials launched an international manhunt for Russneft's former chief executive and founder, Mikhail Gutseriyev, who is under investigation for tax evasion.
"Gutseriyev came to us and offered the company last summer," Deripaska said. "We never discussed Gutseriyev leaving Russia. I was not aware of any political pressure he was under."
Deripaska wants to use the oil company as the basis for a petrochemical venture with an unidentified foreign partner, he said in an interview earlier this month.
Russia, which has the world's third-largest currency reserves, has enough money supply for its industry to expand even as Western banks tighten lending, Deripaska said.
He also said his U.S. visa problems were due to competitors who gave false information to the government.
"The United States is the last country I would invest now. If the government is unreasonably pushing us out, why should we stay there and solve their problems?" he said.
He said plans with GM to develop a $10,000 budget car for Russia had been dropped, Vedomosti reported. High prices from Korean parts suppliers had made the project impossible, the newspaper said, citing an unidentified GAZ official.
n Handelsblatt newspaper reported Monday that Deripaska might have sold his 10 percent stake in German builder Hochtief to finance his purchase of a 25 percent stake in Norilsk Nickel. |
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Bloomberg
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| Metalloinvest merger talks with Norilsk Nickel still on |
Metalloinvest has announced that merger talks between Metalloinvest and Norilsk Nickel are still underway, Metalloinvest said, commenting on reports of the completion of a deal, in which UC RUSAL acquired a blocking stake in Norilsk Nickel. Metalloinvest stressed that the feasibility of the merger would depend on the decision of the majority of shareholders of both companies and appraised market value of these companies. Metalloinvest Asset Management manages the assets of the Russian businessman Alisher Usmanov's Gazmetal.
RBC-News
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| Norilsk Nickel shares to be volatile, experts say |
Norilsk Nickel shares are likely to be volatile in the near term, as the situation is still uncertain, experts told RBC TV today. The stocks will demonstrate a clear trend once UC RUSAL has announced its intentions regarding its partnership with Norilsk Nickel and the latter company's further development. Meanwhile, analysts view Norilsk Nickel's acquisition by UC RUSAL as a positive move. The fact that the Russian nickel giant has been priced rather high, at $60bn, will drive its shares up, experts say.
Around 11 a.m., Norilsk Nickel rose 1.82 percent on the RTS and 0.9 percent on MICEX.
RBC-News
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| MMK shareholders approve dividend for 2007 |
The shareholders of Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works (MMK) have approved the dividend of RUB 0.502 (approx. USD 0.021) per share for 2007, the company reported in a statement today. The shareholders also approved MMK's annual financial statement and elected members of the Board of Directors and the Audit Committee, as well as appointed the company's auditor. Furthermore, they approved the amount of bonuses and compensations to be paid to members of the Board of Directors and the Audit Committee.
RBC-News
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| Vekselberg Spells Out RusAl Plans |
LONDON — United Company RusAl and Norilsk Nickel should pool their assets to take on global giants like BHP Billiton, RusAl chairman Viktor Vekselberg said in an interview Friday.
"The issue of uniting RusAl and Norilsk Nickel has been discussed for a long time," said Vekselberg, a major RusAl shareholder. "For the Russian economy and for the world economy … a new player which could compete with leaders like BHP Billiton is very important."
On Thursday, RusAl closed the acquisition of a strategic stake in Norilsk Nickel from a core shareholder, fellow billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov.
RusAl, which delayed a long-planned IPO last year, will make the placement by the end of next year and use its public status as a "launch pad," paying for new acquisitions with shares, he said.
Further integration with Norilsk was not a precondition for the public offering, he said.
Norilsk is in talks about a merger with Metalloinvest, an iron ore and steel firm founded by Alisher Usmanov, an Uzbek-born billionaire and shareholder in London's Arsenal football club.
Vekselberg, who said RusAl's founding aim was to build a diversified company, said he would consider allowing Metalloinvest to join the party, increasing the heft of a combined operation and broadening its range of products.
"I don't see any major reasons why we couldn't agree, except the traditional ones — the price, the corporate structure and strategic vision."
The Moscow Times
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| RusAl Wants Norilsk Tie-Up in a Year |
Oleg Deripaska's United Company RusAl said Friday it would seek to combine with Norilsk Nickel, the country's biggest mining company, in the next year and may buy shares on the open market.
A merger is "in the interests of all shareholders," RusAl chief executive Alexander Bulygin said in e-mailed answers to questions. "If the combination completes within a year, in 10 years we can become the leader in metals and mining, producing all the metals traded" on the London Metal Exchange, he said.
RusAl on Thursday bought 25 percent of Norilsk from Onexim Group, an investment company controlled by billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov.
Prokhorov's Onexim received 14 percent of RusAl in return for the shares it sold in Norilsk. His investment company also got $7 billion in cash, Kommersant said Friday, citing unidentified bankers familiar with the transaction.
Closely held RusAl may seek to raise its stake in Norilsk by buying shares on the market if conditions are favorable, Bulygin said.
"If not, increasing the stake is not a must," he said. "We will review different ways to merge, discussing it with Norilsk shareholders large and small."
Vladimir Potanin holds about 30 percent of Norilsk and is the company's largest investor. RusAl said it plans to meet with Potanin's Interros to discuss managing Norilsk.
Norilsk rose 74.58 rubles, or 1.1 percent, to 6,651.97 rubles Friday, after falling 3.1 percent Thursday after RusAl announced the stake purchase.
RusAl may be worth $35 billion, Lehman Brothers said in a March report. A combination of RusAl and Norilsk would create a company with a market capitalization of $90.5 billion, potentially rising to $110 billion in a year, Lehman said.
RusAl, formed in March 2007 in a merger between Russian Aluminum, SUAL and the alumina assets of Glencore International, has "unique experience in unifying three companies," Bulygin said. "We are consolidators."
Separately, Norilsk began talks with Metalloinvest on a possible combination. Metalloinvest, controlled by billionaire Alisher Usmanov, is the country's largest iron ore producer.
Bulygin said RusAl would not take an "aggressive" position to block a deal with Metalloinvest. RusAl doesn't want to "spoil relations" with global funds that hold stakes in Norilsk as the aluminum company itself plans to sell shares next year, Bulygin said.
Metalloinvest said Thursday that it would continue to pursue merger talks with Norilsk.
Analysts reacted positively to the deal Friday.
"RusAl wouldn't risk billions of dollars to get into the company and get stuck because of a stubborn shareholder," said Kirill Chuiko, a metals analyst at UralSib. "The deal seems to have been clinched behind the scenes."
In recent years, leading Russian businesses have tended to consult with President Vladimir Putin about major mergers and acquisitions, and Thursday's deal, potentially involving consultations among up to four business groups, appeared to be no exception.
Potanin met with Putin on Thursday to "discuss the realization of Interros' international projects," the Kremlin official web site reported Thursday evening.
"It is hardly a pure coincidence," Chuiko said.
Vladimir Zhukov, senior metals analyst at Lehman Brothers in Moscow, said in a note Friday that Bulygin appeared skeptical about the quality of Metalloinvest assets, and that could indicate that RusAl intended to "at least initially [play] hardball with Norilsk Nickel before a potential acquisition of Metalloinvest" in an attempt to lower the value of Usmanov's firm.
Bloomberg
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| UC RUSAL management satisfied with Norilsk Nickel deal |
UC RUSAL has completed the deal on the acquisiton of a 25-percent stake plus one share in Norilsk Nickel from Onexim Group, a joint press release states. According to the terms of the deal, Onexim Group will receive 14 percent of UC RUSAL's shares instead of the previously announced 11 percent, plus cash. Onexim Group's representative is expected to become a member of the company's Board of Directors. Meanwhile, the shares of other US RUSAL shareholders (Russian businessman Oleg Deripaska, SUAL, and Glencore) will change proportionally.
Alexader Bulygin, General Director of UC RUSAL commented on the close of the deal by saying that the acquisition of the stake in the Russian mining and metallurgical company would allow his company to become a more diversified mining and metallurgical group.
RBC-News
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| Severstal raises stake in US steel mill |
Severstal has increased its stake in the US-based steel mill SeverCorr to 85 percent, the Russian steel producer said in a statement today.
In December 2007, Severstal announced that it had consolidated 71.1 percent in SeverCorr, owned jointly by Severstal and its US partners.
RBC-News
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| $220M for Alcoa in Russia |
Alcoa, the world's third-largest aluminum producer, said Wednesday that it planned to increase spending to $220 million this year on its two plants in Russia to help boost output and efficiency.
The company will invest slightly less than the combined $290 million spent in the previous three years, Yevgeny Luzov, Alcoa country manager for Russia, said Wednesday.
Bloomberg
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