Norilsk Nickel has no plans to make new offer to RusAl - Klishas
MOSCOW. March 4 (Interfax) - OJSC MMC Norilsk Nickel has no plans to make a new share buyback offer to UC RusAl, the company's president, Andrei Klishas, told Interfax.
"MMC's management has no plans to make new offers. We will continue working in the interests of all of the company's shareholders and workers. We will continue to implement a program for raising capitalization and social programs. We are calling on RusAl to take part in this constructive effort," Klishas said.
It was earlier reported that the Norilsk Nickel planned to earmark $4.5 billion for a program to raise capitalization, which was approved at the end of 2010. The program should consist of two stages: firstly, the buyback of shares and ADRs and, secondly, the purchase of stock from the market through individual agreements. MMC Norilsk Nickel has already spent $3.5 billion on buybacks. Transactions with the company's shareholders should be finished by March 9. Therefore, the company should purchase another $1 billion in shares from the market over the course of a year.
RusAl's board of directors, on Thursday, March 3, turned down an offer from MMC Norilsk Nickel to buy back 20% of its shares for $12.8 billion. At the same time, the board undertook a resolution that stipulated that the aluminum company's management should sit down with representatives of the second largest shareholder in Norilsk Nickel, Vladimir Potanin's Interros, after the board's reelection at an extraordinary shareholder meeting slated for March 11.