Russian govt approves ALROSA’s privatization at 65 rbl/share

MOSCOW, Jul 11 (PRIME) -- The Russian government has set the price of a 10.9% stake in diamond mining giant ALROSA at 65 rubles per share, according to a statement released on Monday.

The bidding book for the government’s stake in the company opened on July 6 and closed on July 8. Russia will sell about 803 million shares in the framework of the deal.

A source close to participants of the secondary public offering (SPO) of the company told PRIME earlier that the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and Asian sovereign funds acquired about 50% of the shares on offer.

Economic Development Minister Alexei Ulyukayev said earlier that the funds raised in the sale of the stake will be for state spending.

Ulyukayev also said the government will not make any decisions on additional sales of shares in ALROSA within 180 days after the price announcement.

Before the SPO, the Federal State Property Management Agency held 43.93% in ALROSA. The government of the republic of Yakutia holds 25% plus one share, 8% is distributed among eight Yakutia’s regions, and 23.07% is in free-float.

ALROSA soared 2.04% to 68.93 rubles per share on the Moscow Exchange at 11:27 a.m., Moscow time.

(64.2488 rubles – U.S. $1)

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