The new board of directors at the world’s top nickel producer, Russia’s Norilsk Nickel, will elect its chairman on Friday, a source close to the board told RIA Novosti late on Thursday.
Alexander Voloshin, who lost his chairmanship at the firm’s summer AGM, is likely to regain it. His candidacy is supported by both RusAl and Interros, the firm’s two largest shareholders.
Aluminum giant RusAl, which holds a 25% stake in Norilsk Nickel, initiated an extraordinary shareholders’ meeting on March 11 to re-elect the board.
RusAl, controlled by Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska, and Interros, the investment arm of another Russian billionaire Vladimir Potanin, have been locked in a struggle for control of Norilsk Nickel. RusAl claims the Norilsk board became dominated by officials linked with Interros after the AGM last summer, where RusAl lost one board seat, while Interros increased its representation.
As a result of the March EGM, Interros received four seats on the board of the mining firm, while RusAl’s presence on the board was cut to two. Norilsk management also got two seats.
The two largest minority shareholders, the Metalloinvest metals firm owned by billionaire Alisher Usmanov, and little-known Trafigura company, will have one vote each at the meetings.
MOSCOW, April 1 (RIA Novosti)