Norilsk Nickel Sells $3.5 Billion Stake to Trafigura After Pursuing Rusal

Dec. 22 -- Trafigura Beheer BV, the second- largest industrial metals trader, said its plan to buy an 8 percent stake in Russia&rsquo;s OAO GMK Norilsk Nickel will give it a &ldquo;fast-track expansion&rdquo; in accessing output of the metal.
Trafigura, based in Amsterdam, is completing the purchase of the stake in Norilsk, the world&rsquo;s biggest nickel producer, the trading company said on its website today.
&quot;The intention is to create a partnership with Norilsk that provides a fast-track expansion plan into the nickel market by having better direct access to the production,&rdquo; Simon Collins, the trading company&rsquo;s refined metals chief, said in the statement. &ldquo;Trafigura believes there are considerable synergies between the companies.&rdquo; Norilsk, whose largest shareholders are locked in a dispute over control, will sell $3.5 billion of American depositary receipts to raise funds for &ldquo;general purposes,&rdquo; the Moscow- based company said in a statement yesterday. Trafigura doesn&rsquo;t plan to raise its holding to more than 10 percent, Norilsk said.
Under the deal, Trafigura may plan for Norilsk &ldquo;to direct a certain portion of nickel sales via the trading house,&rdquo; said Dmitriy Kolomytsyn, an analyst at Morgan Stanley in Moscow. Guido de Jongh, a Trafigura spokesman in Amsterdam, and Norilsk spokeswoman Maria Uvarova in Moscow declined to comment.
Norilsk&rsquo;s billionaire shareholders Oleg Deripaska and Vladimir Potanin have bickered over influence on the board and use of cash in a feud dating back to 2008. Norilsk last week offered $12 billion to buy back the 25 percent stake held by Deripaska&rsquo;s United Co. Rusal, and yesterday&rsquo;s accord would provide cash for such a deal, according to Nomura Holdings Plc.
Buying Out Rusal
&quot;The sale of treasury stock may indicate that Norilsk is going ahead with its plan to buy out&rdquo; Rusal, said Vladimir Zhukov, an analyst at Nomura in Moscow.
Norilsk said in August it declined an offer from Glencore International AG, the world&rsquo;s largest commodities trader, to take over the mining company&rsquo;s nickel sales. Glencore owns 8.75 percent of United Co. Rusal and sells part of its aluminum.
Rusal voiced concern at the Trafigura deal.
&quot;We are concerned that an asset worth over $3.5 billion was monetized without discussion and voting at the board,&rdquo; Rusal said yesterday in a statement. &ldquo;Moreover, the stake was sold to Trafigura, a company which is a direct competitor of Norilsk Nickel for marketing and sales of its metals.&rdquo;
Trafigura had revenue of $47.3 billion last year, compared with $106.4 billion at Barr, Switzerland-based Glencore, according to the companies&rsquo; websites.
The sale to Trafigura may presage an &ldquo;ultimate acquisition of Rusal&rsquo;s stake in Norilsk,&rdquo; where Trafigura provides funding for Norilsk&rsquo;s bid, said Erik Danemar, an analyst at Deutsche Bank AG in Moscow. Norilsk&rsquo;s Uvarova and a spokesman for Trafigura both declined to comment.
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