"The issue of uniting RusAl and Norilsk Nickel has been discussed for a long time," said Vekselberg, a major RusAl shareholder. "For the Russian economy and for the world economy ?€¦ a new player which could compete with leaders like BHP Billiton is very important."
On Thursday, RusAl closed the acquisition of a strategic stake in Norilsk Nickel from a core shareholder, fellow billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov.
RusAl, which delayed a long-planned IPO last year, will make the placement by the end of next year and use its public status as a "launch pad," paying for new acquisitions with shares, he said.
Further integration with Norilsk was not a precondition for the public offering, he said.
Norilsk is in talks about a merger with Metalloinvest, an iron ore and steel firm founded by Alisher Usmanov, an Uzbek-born billionaire and shareholder in London's Arsenal football club.
Vekselberg, who said RusAl's founding aim was to build a diversified company, said he would consider allowing Metalloinvest to join the party, increasing the heft of a combined operation and broadening its range of products.
"I don't see any major reasons why we couldn't agree, except the traditional ones ?€” the price, the corporate structure and strategic vision."
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