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Russian Businessman Aims for ALROSA, BHP Diamond Asset Merger
May 28, 2012 6:16 AM
By Deena Taylor
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RAPAPORT... Businessman Suleiman Kerimov is hoping to merge a prospective stake in ALROSA with BHP Billiton’s diamond assets, Bloomberg reported quoting Moscow based Vedomosti.
The report indicated that Kerimov has urged the Russian government to offer 51 percent of ALROSA under its asset sale program, merge it with BHP Billiton's diamond assets and hold a public offering of shares in the combined company.
In March, ALROSA’s board advised a gradual sale of the state’s interest, starting with the sale of a 14 percent stake in the miner.
Anton Averin, a spokesman for Kerimov’s Nafta Moskva investment company told Bloomberg that the sale of a 51 percent stake in ALROSA make sense as the price would include a premium for control, while selling smaller lots will benefit ALROSA’s management. Nafta Moskva currently holds a 1 percent stake in ALROSA.
BHP Billiton announced in November 2011 that it intends to exit the diamond market as the industry does not fit its strategy to invest in large, long life, upstream and expandable assets.
Separately, New York-based investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) has backed away from the sale of BHP's Ekati mine valued at up to $2 billion, the Financial Times reported.
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Tags:
Alrosa, BHP Billiton, Deena Taylor
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