Prokhorov’s Onexim finally sells its Polyus Stake

Mikhail Prokhorov, the 68^th richest person on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index with $13.6 in his portfolio, finally sold the 37.8 percent stake in Polyus Gold International Ltd in control of his Onexim Holding for $3.6 billion. The stake was divided between Zelimhan Mutsoev’s  Lizarazu Limited, which acquired 18.5% for $1.77 billion, and Gabriel Yushvaev’s Receza Limited, which received 19.28% for  $1.846 billion.

It is not a secret that both businessmen acted in the interest of Suleiman Kerimov, whose Nafta Moskva owns 40.2 percent of Polyus Gold.  Analysts predict Polyus’s near merger either with Polymetal International Plc or another, possibly international group. 

Russian “Billionaire Battles” Formula: Get To The Court And Don’t Forget To Invite Media

It is not a secret that in Russia, which some claim to be the world's biggest energy producer, with annual GDP of about $1.9 trillion, valuing for 2.8 percent of the world economy, the political situation may be judged by some experts as unstable. Country is facing presidential elections in the early 2012 with another complicated castling planned by Russian political leaders. While most of Russia’s publicity efforts has been concentrated on balancing country’s positive reputation, international media is full of stories with Russian businessmen advocating for international courts to settle their disputes of various kind which are called as the “billionaire battles”.

The word “oligarch” had became a widely recognized appellative name for the most rich and successful businessmen from Russia, everyone knows they influential and of course they do transfer their personal reputation to the image of Russia as a country on the international political arena. This is why current behavior of leading Russian businessmen so malapropos — their public skirmishes and conflicts advocated by international courts not only exploit international judicial system and trust of respectable business media, but also transfer negative reputation to the political situation in Russia. 

Polyus Gold reports 2010 operating results

Polyus Gold (PLZL:RU) has disclosed tentative operating results for FY2010. In general, the numbers were anticipated: gold production at Polyus increased by almost 10% to 1.38 mn oz. The surplus was exclusively due to the launch of the Blagodatnoe Mining and Enrichment Complex, more than a double increase in production at the Titimukhta site and the consolidation of KazakhGold results. In the meantime, production at the company core deposit, the Olimpiada, dropped over 30%. 

Mikhail Prokhorov expects Polyus Gold to merge with global major in 2011

Mikhail Prokhorov, Polyus Gold’s (OPYGY:US) key shareholder, yesterday told Bloomberg that the company may merge with a key international player as soon as in 2011, creating a global leader in gold mining. 

The Prokhorov interview came shortly after a binding agreement was signed with the Assaubayev family, the former controlling shareholder, allowing for the reverse takeover (RTO) deal between Polyus Gold and KazakhGold to resume.