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Denis Grishkin / Vedomosti
Vekselberg says he does not rule out a merger of his Oerlikon and Sulzer.
RusAl and Vneshekonombank, or VEB, are in talks on the debt, Vekselberg said in an interview with Russian newspaper Vedomosti published Thursday. Vekselberg spokesman Andrei Shtorkh confirmed the remarks. VEB declined by e-mail to comment on "ongoing talks."
Vekselberg also said RusAl may move to reorganize the debt by selling its 25 percent stake in Norilsk Nickel worth about $4 billion at the stock's current price.
"The acquisition was a strategic investment for RusAl, and today we are not looking at sales options," RusAl spokeswoman Vera Kurochkina said of the stake in comments e-mailed after the interview was published.
The holding was used as collateral for the one-year loan, which is due in October. RusAl would only sell the shares if it were to get more than it paid to buy them from billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov, Vekselberg said. If VEB were to sell convertible bonds, they would be backed by RusAl debt, he said.
RusAl agreed in April 2008 to pay more than $7 billion in cash and 14 percent of its shares for the Norilsk stake.
The aluminum company was valued at $36 billion recently after it agreed to swap $2 billion of the cash payment to Prokhorov for a further 4.5 percent of its stock, Vekselberg said.
Norilsk shareholder Vladimir Potanin is among "many people" who are interested in RusAl's stake, Vekselberg said. Norilsk is Russia's biggest mining company.
RusAl was "close" to breaking even in the first quarter and may report a "small" profit by the end of the year as it cuts costs and retires unprofitable capacity, Vekselberg said.
The company is cutting output by 11 percent this year to 3.9 million metric tons, which RusAl expects will still be more than its rivals. The risk of a default by RusAl on the VEB loan is "minimal," Vekselberg said.
Also in the interview, Vekselberg said he did not rule out a merger of Oerlikon and Sulzer, although it makes no sense at present because of the financial crisis.
Oerlikon should not solve its financial difficulties via a merger with Sulzer, Vekselberg said. A merger may involve all or parts of the two Swiss companies.
Vekselberg said his Renova Holding does not plan to increase its stake in Sulzer and will support Juergen Dormann as the new chairman.
Renova has renegotiated the terms of the loans with banks that helped finance its purchases of Oerlikon and Sulzer stakes, Vekselberg said. The loans are no longer tied to the price of the companies' shares, although Vekselberg's stakes are still used as collateral.
