Official Norilsk offer gets expected RusAl response

The latest official offer by Norilsk Nickel to buy back some of the stake RusAl holds in it has been rejected by RusAl, claiming it serves only the interests of Norilsk Management and key shareholder, Interros.

On Wednesday the Norilsk Nickel board official approved an offer which was flagged a week earlier.The offer is to 15% of RusAl’s 25% stake in Norilsk for $8.75billion. Norilsk noted that the offer was at a significant premium to the current market price, and that the value for other Norilsk Nickel shareholder stemmed from reducing the scope of a bitter shareholder battle which has raged for 3 years between RusAl, Norilsk Nickel management and Interros.."Norilsk Nickel believes that UC Rusal shareholders shall express interest in accepting the offer, considering the premium to current market price of the Company shares. The suggested transaction serves to the best interest of MMC Norilsk Nickel shareholders as it shall provide for resolution of the longstanding conflict between particular groups of shareholders."As expected, after its statement upon news that the offer would be forthcoming, RusAl quickly replied with a statement noting that the Norilsk Nickel proposal served the interests of Norilsk management and Interros."The offer to Rusal is not in the interests of Norilsk Nickel and destroys the company's shareholder value. The management of MMC, instead of investing in the development of the company, which raises its value, and contributing to resolving the shareholder conflict, continues to defend their own interests and the interests of only one shareholder.”