A Russian-Israeli businessman is suing Oleg Deripaska in a London court, claiming he was cheated out of his stake in Deripaska's giant aluminum company.
Mikhail Chyorny filed court papers in Britain's High Court claiming that he rightfully owns almost 20 percent of Russian Aluminum, Vedomosti reported Tuesday.
Basic Element, Deripaska's holding company, has long maintained that it has no outstanding financial obligations to Chyorny. A spokesman for Deripaska declined to comment on the filing, which took place Friday.
RusAl announced in October that it would merge with SUAL and the alumina-related assets of Glencore, the Swiss trading group, to form United Company RusAl, which would become the largest aluminum producer in the world, surpassing U.S. giant Alcoa.
Under the merger agreement, which has yet to be approved by the Federal Anti-Monopoly Service, the combined aluminum company would go public in London or another foreign stock exchange within 18 months.
RusAl will control 66 percent of the combined company, while SUAL will have 22 percent and Glencore's shareholders will have 12 percent of the stock.
Several Russian companies have faced lawsuits in the run-up to an IPO as past or current stakeholders sought compensation for assets they say were unfairly taken from them.
Yukos sued Rosneft in the British courts ahead of Rosneft's July IPO over what it said was Rosneft's unfair appropriation of its Yuganskneftegaz unit.
Chyorny and Deripaska were co-owners of Siberian Aluminum in the 1990s. In 2000, SibAl combined its aluminum assets with those of Roman Abramovich to form RusAl. Chyorny said that in 2001 he sold his stake in SibAl for $250 million and also signed an agreement with Deripaska that he was due a 20 percent stake in RusAl, less the $250 million payment, Vedomosti reported.
Chyorny is seeking a 20 percent stake in RusAl or the payment of an equivalent sum, worth several billion dollars. The court proceedings could hurt the RusAl merger and hamper the combined company's path to an IPO. Representatives of Chyorny could not be reached for comment Tuesday. |
