Norilsk’s Trafigura Accord ‘Not Transparent,’ Deripaska Says
United Co. Rusal, the owner of a 25 percent stake in OAO GMK Norilsk Nickel, said the Russian mining company’s December agreement to sell 8 percent of its shares to commodities trader Trafigura Beheer BV was “not transparent.”
“This was a fictitious transaction,” Oleg Deripaska, chief executive officer of Moscow-based Rusal, said today on a conference call with reporters after Norilsk held a board meeting. “Norilsk just gave Trafigura the stake.”
Norilsk said Dec. 20 that it agreed to sell an 8 percent stake to Amsterdam-based Trafigura, valued by Rusal at $4 billion. The deal stoked a feud between Deripaska and fellow Norilsk shareholder Vladimir Potanin, who have bickered over influence on the board and use of the company’s cash since 2008.
Trafigura’s press service was unable to comment immediately when Bloomberg News called. Maria Uvarova, a spokeswoman for Norilsk, declined to comment.
Rusal has pressed Norilsk to ensure that management discloses the details of the deal to the board within the next 30 days, Deripaska said, adding that the proposal is backed by Potanin’s Interros Holding Co. “The deal of Norilsk with Trafigura was not transparent,” he said.
An official at Interros, who asked not to be identified, declined to comment.
Rusal on March 3 rejected a $12.8 billion bid from Norilsk to buy back 20 percent of its shares. Instead the aluminum company approved a special resolution that committed management to begin talks with Interros in a bid to end the shareholder dispute.
“We discussed the situation with Potanin, but came to no conclusion,” Deripaska said today.
To contact the reporter on this story: Yuliya Fedorinova in Moscow at yfedorinova@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Amanda Jordan at ajordan11@bloomberg.net
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