STOCKHOLM — United Company RusAl will “absolutely” proceed with its initial public offering in Hong Kong this year, Chairman Viktor Vekselberg said Wednesday.
“We strongly believe that we will be able to list it this year in the first half of December,” Vekselberg said in an interview in Stockholm. RusAl’s plan to sell new shares representing a 10 percent stake in the company has raised “huge interest” from Russia-focused and Asia-based investors, he said, speaking on the sidelines of a meeting between Russian and European Union officials.
The deadline for RusAl to agree with more than 70 banks on restructuring $16.8 billion of debt is Nov. 26, Vekselberg said. The talks must be concluded before the IPO can proceed, two people familiar with RusAl’s plans said last week. A delay would mean that the IPO wouldn’t go ahead before March, one of the people said. RusAl’s controlling shareholder Oleg Deripaska said Nov. 15 that the talks are “almost” complete.
RusAl agreed with its biggest creditor, Vekselberg said.
“Now we fix just some technical points of agreement,” he said. “After that, according to our schedule, we should present our materials” to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
A successful IPO would make RusAl the first Russian company to complete an offering in China.