Following up on "US Reprieve for Rusal Does Not Relieve President Putin of Fatal Choice for Oleg Deripaska".
From ZeroHedge:Just 24 hours ago, Bloomberg reported that "Oleg Deripaska Plans on Keeping Control of Rusal", a move which suggested that the Russian oligarch would remain defiant in face of US demands that he sell his stake and/or step down as head of United Co. Rusal - the world's biggest aluminum producer outside of China - even as the Russian aluminum giant battles for survival having lost capital markets access following the snactions.
Or maybe not: overnight we got a first indication that Bloomberg's report was incorrect when Rusal published a Facebook post denying the Bloomberg claim that Deripaska was intent on keeping control over Rusal, and threatened to take "legal action"...We'll have more tomorrow.
...And then, moments ago, we got definitive confirmation when EN+, which holds a controlling stake in Rusia, announced that Deripaska had in fact agreed "in principle" to cut his stake in EN+ to below 50%, and that the sanctioned Russian billionaire had agreed with the proposal that he will resign from board.
As EN+ also adds, the company is seeking an urgent response to the formal request submitted to OFAC, and notes that without an extension of "authorization period for General License No. 13", the ability of the company to maintain GDR listing on LSE will be materially impacted.
"Mr Oleg Deripaska has agreed in principle to the chairman’s request that Mr Deripaska reduce his shareholding in the Company to below 50%" EN+ said in a statement.
The proposal has yet to be accepted by the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which slapped Mr Deripaska and his companies with the sanctions on April 6, saying they were part of a broad response to Russia’s “malign activity”....MORE