Timchenko denies rumored interest in Raspadskaya coal co
MOSCOW. June 9 (Interfax) - Gennady Timchenko, co-owner of oil trader Gunvor, has denied rumors he is interested in buying Russian coking coal producer Raspadskaya , in which 80% of the shares are up for sale.
"Neither Gennady Timchenko nor firms controlled by him are interested in buying shares in OJSC Raspadskaya and are not in talks to enter the company's shareholder capital," an official representative of Timchenko said in a statement.
Shares in Raspadskaya fell 2.3% to 165.99 rubles on the MICEX exchange immediately after this statement, and were 1.6% down on yesterday's closing price by 12:34 p.m.
Gunvor has said it intended to branch out into coal and appointed two vice presidents to its coal division, Gunvor Coal. Rumors that firms controlled by Timchenko might buy RaspadskAya surfaced in March, soon after reports emerged that a majority stake in the company might be sold. Reports at roughly the same time also said Gunvor was interested in another Russian coal producer, Kolmar.
Sources said at the time that SDS Ugol was interested in buying Raspadskaya, but the company was not thought able to afford the asset. Market participants thought SDS Ugol (SDS Coal) might be used a platform for Timchenko to expand into coal, but those rumors died down.
They intensified again at the end of May, when reports said Timchenko's firms were holding talks to buy a controlling stake in Raspadskaya. Reuters quoted sources as saying the assets that interested Timchenko included Raspadskaya and SDS Coal, that he was already close to buying SDS Coal and that his ultimate goal was Raspadskaya.
Mechel has been named among the main contenders to buy Raspadskaya but it was only prepared to pay $2 billion for a company with a market cap of $5.8 billion at the time in view of the damage sustained during a series of methane blasts in May 2010. Unofficial reports say the asking price for the 80% of Raspadskaya was originally $6 billion.
Raspadskaya's market cap is currently around $4.4 billion and the 80% has a market value of around $3.5 billion.
Rumor had it in May that Severstal was discussing a syndicated loan of $5 billion and had performed due diligence on Raspadskaya but then decided to back out.
Sources are now saying Novolipetsk Steel (NLMK) is looking closely at Raspadskaya.
The blasts in May 2011 killed 91 miners. The bodies of 11 are still below ground and a fire at one coal seam at the stricken Raspadskaya deep mine has still not been extinguished.
The Cyprus-registered Corber Enterprises owns 80% of Raspadskaya. Evraz Group, on the one hand, and Gennady Kozovoi, Raspadskaya's CEO, and Alexander Vagin, the company's board chairman, on the other, are the beneficiaries of Corber Enterprises on equal terms. Raspadskaya's free float is around 20%.
Evraz Group and the management of Raspadskaya have hired Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley to find buyers for 80% of Raspadskaya.
