Vekselberg wants to boost stake in Rusal, hopes to close deal soon
MOSCOW. Oct 25 (Interfax) - Russian billionaire Viktor Vekselberg hopes to increase his stake in UC Rusal , which he said was a sensible move.
"We want to increase our stake. This is sensible, this is natural. We have had a stake in this company from the very beginning. We believe in this company. We see its great potential," Vekselberg said on Rossiya 24 television.
"There is nothing surprising in this investment. This is organic growth in a sector where we have been for a long time," he said.
Vekselberg expressed the hope that acquisition by Sual Partners of Rusal shares from Mikhail Prokhorov's Onexim Group would close soon.
In late September, Vekselberg, whose Sual Partners currently has a 15.8% stake in Rusal, said he expected to conclude the purchase of Onexim's stake in the course of a month. Kommersant reported earlier that, according to unofficial information, Vekselberg's Renova Group is prepared to pay $1 billion for Onexim's 17% stake in Rusal, a 10% premium to the market. That would boost Vekselberg's stake in Rusal to 32.8%. But later media reports said Sual Partners might only purchase 12% of Rusal shares from Onexim.
A company controlled by the family of Dagestani Senator Suleyman Kerimov has been named as one other contender to acquire Onexim's Rusal stake.
UC Rusal was formed in 2007 with the merger of Rusal and Sual and the alumina assets of Swiss commodities trader Glencore. UC Rusal's largest shareholders are En+ with 48.13%, Mikhail Prokhorov's Onexim Group with 17.02%, Sual Partners with 15.8% and Glencore with 8.75%. The free float is about 10.02%.