Source: Onexim to sell 3.3% in Russia’s RUSAL for $240 mln

MOSCOW, Feb 14 (PRIME) -- Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov’s Onexim Group will sell 3.3% in aluminum giant UC RUSAL for U.S. $240 million, a banking source familiar with the deal told PRIME late on Monday.

Onexim plans to sell 505 securities at 3.7 Hong Kong dollars, or 27.7375 rubles, per share.

Dimosenco Holdings, an affiliate of Onexim group, started collecting bids for 2.5% in RUSAL at a price of $200 million earlier on Monday. The offer was in the form of accelerated bookbuilding, which indicated that Onexim may increase it, a banking source told PRIME.

Close to the end of book building, the placement’s organizers told investors that bids below 3.7 Hong Kong dollars per paper may be turned down, while bids for the stake exceeded $200 million, a source with knowledge of the deal said.

On Monday, RUSAL’s shares at the Hong Kong Exchange were priced at HK $4.09 per security.

VTB Capital acted as the global coordinator and bookrunner of the deal. Onexim Group will be unable to sell its remaining shares in RUSAL for 90 days after the deal.

Earlier in February, media reported that Prokhorov was preparing a sale of a 5% stake in RUSAL. SUAL Partners of Viktor Vekselberg and Leonard Blavatnik were interested in buying 12% in RUSAL from Onexim, but the deal is not yet completed which might be connected with strengthening of RUSAL’s shares in recent months.

According to RUSAL’s Web site, En+ of Oleg Deripaska owned 48.13% in the company before the deal, Onexim Group owned 17.02%, SUAL Partners had 15.80%, Amokenga Holdings – controlled by Swiss commodity trader Glencore – had 8.75%, the company’s management owned 0.25%, and 10.05% was free-float.

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