Denis Morozov told Kommersant that Norilsk was in the early
stages of evaluating a merger proposal from Metalloinvest, the iron-ore and
steel firm controlled by billionaire Alisher Usmanov, but had received no
concrete proposal from United Company RusAl.
"Theoretically, anything is possible. But in my view,
if such deals are possible, then it would only be on the basis of Norilsk
Nickel," Morozov said.
While Norilsk, the world's largest nickel miner, is open to
potential merger proposals, Morozov said speculation unaccompanied by an
official approach could lead to share-price volatility.
"This creates unpredictability and potential risks,
most of all for our minority shareholders," he said.
Norilsk's market capitalization is currently $51.9 billion.
Its stock, though more than double its worth two years ago, has fallen about 15
percent from its peak in November.
Billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov has agreed to sell his 25
percent-plus-one-share stake in Norilsk to RusAl as part of a wider division of
assets with his former business partner and another large shareholder in
Norilsk, Vladimir Potanin.
RusAl, which is majority-owned by Oleg Deripaska, the
richest Russian according to Forbes, has stated its long-term intention to
effect a merger of the two companies, and Russian media have speculated that
talks to this end have already begun.
Morozov said in the Kommersant interview that RusAl had yet
to become a shareholder in Norilsk.
"I can't comment on RusAl's plans because we have not
received any proposals from this company. It's a private company, so we do not
have sufficient information to evaluate the merit of any possible
combination," he said.
He said Norilsk's management would evaluate Metalloinvest
with the help of an external consultant.
"We can't say when exactly this process will be
completed, because the exchange of information only began a short time
ago," he said.
