RUSAL may sell 14% in Bystrinsky to Interros after spin-off

MOSCOW, Mar 29 (PRIME) -- Russian aluminum giant UC RUSAL may sell 14% in the Bystrinsky project to Interros of tycoon Vladimir Potanin for around U.S. $570 million after the project’s spin-off, the company said in a statement on Monday.

RUSAL owns an about 27.8% stake in Norilsk Nickel indirectly through company Aktivium.

“It is expected that in the case of the spin-off, Aktivium will own around 14% of the issued shareholder equity of the spun-off company. It is supposed currently that Aktivium may sell the target shares to LLC Holding Company Interros after the spin-off,” the statement read.

On March 26, RUSAL said that the core shareholders of Norilsk Nickel – the aluminum giant, Interros, and Crispian – preliminarily agreed to spin off Norilsk Nickel’s Bystrinsky project to the company’s shareholders. Norilsk Nickel owns 50.01% in the Bystrinsky project, which comprises the Bystrinskoye deposit and the Bystrinsky GOK mining and processing plant.

Other shareholders of the Bystrinsky project include CIS NRF Holdings, a subsidiary of Interros, with a 36.66% stake, and United Resources Limited, a subsidiary of HOPU Investments fund, with 13.33%. In 2020, the project produced 63,000 tonnes of copper and 241,000 ounces of gold in concentrates, and its revenue reached $1.004 billion.

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