Russia's Norilsk to sell OGK-3 to InterRAO-Sources

MOSCOW, Dec. 30 --  Mining giant Norilsk Nickel has decided to sell a 79.24 percent stake in Russian utility OGK-3 utility to state-controlled InterRAO , two sources familiar with the decision told Reuters.

The decision was taken at a Norilsk Nickel board meeting on Tuesday. InterRAO had offered up to 15 percent of its shares for the stake, which has been valued at $2.3 billion.

The second bidder was Russian tycoon Oleg Deripaska, whose aluminium company RUSAL holds 25 percent in Norilsk Nickel. Deripaska's energy firm EuroSibEnergo had offered $2.1 billion for the OGK-3 stake, Russian media reported this month.

At Norilsk Nickel, Deripaska is locked in a conflict over strategy with another key shareholder, Vladimir Potanin.

On Tuesday, RUSAL declined the offer to sell its Norilsk stake to the company for $12 billion. [ID:nN28259601]

Currently, Norilsk Nickel owns 82.7 percent in loss-making OGK-3 [ID:nLDE6BF20U]. InterRAO's planned acquisition would give it enough capacity to power a mid-sized European country [ID:nLDE69H0EQ].