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Russian Potash Producer Silvinit Names Uralkali's Baumgertner Acting CEO
OAO Silvinit, Russia’s largest potash producer, said it appointed former OAO Uralkali head Vladislav Baumgertner as acting chief executive officer.
The company hired Baumgertner as deputy CEO yesterday and appointed him acting chief from today for the duration of CEO Rostyam Sabirov’s annual holiday, Silvinit said in an e-mailed statement.
Baumgertner will replace Sabirov as CEO at some point in the next two months and will oversee the merger of Silvinit and Uralkali after billionaire Suleiman Kerimov and his partners bought control of the two companies, Vedomosti reported today, citing unidentified officials. He may later be appointed CEO of the united company, the newspaper said. Silvinit spokesman Anton Subbotin declined to comment on the Vedomosti report when contacted by Bloomberg.
Rising demand for potash, heightened by a U.S. forecast for a decline in wheat output because of adverse weather in Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan, is driving acquisitions in the industry. BHP Billiton Ltd., the world’s largest mining company, today made a $40 billion takeover offer for Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc., the largest producer of the fertilizer, after the company said yesterday it rejected an initial approach. Potash Corp. and Rio Tinto Group, the third-largest mining company, are each seeking 10 percent to 15 percent of Uralkali, Vedomosti reported Aug.13, citing a person it didn’t identify.
‘Strongly Positive’
“We see the news as strongly positive for Silvinit, as the appointment of the manager who took Uralkali public and built its strong reputation on the market should send a clear signal to investors that Silvinit’s new shareholders seek a high valuation for their sale to Uralkali,” UniCredit SpA analyst Marat Gabitov said in a report today.
Coal millionaire Anatoly Skurov and lawmaker Zelimkhan Mutsoev bought a combined 44 percent share in Silvinit, a person familiar with the sale told Bloomberg Aug. 13, declining to be identified. The two, who paid $3 billion for the holdings, are Kerimov’s partners, Vedomosti said Aug. 16, citing people it didn’t name. Kerimov earlier bought 25 percent of Silvinit and with other partners bought 53 percent of Silvinit’s rival, Uralkali, in June from Dmitry Rybolovlev. Rybolovlev, ranked by Forbes as Russia’s 10th-richest man, kept a 12 percent stake.
“Baumgertner’s main mandate will be restructuring Silvinit’s operations and its sale to, or merger with, Uralkali,” Troika Dialog analyst Mikhail Stiskin said in a note today. “We believe that Uralkali will act as the center of consolidation.”
To contact the reporters on this story: Maria Kolesnikova in Moscow at mkolesnikova@bloomberg.net.
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