Norilsk Nickel said it's on course to complete a $4.5 billion share buyback by the end of this week, shrugging off a possible challenge by the country's antitrust watchdog.
"The company plans to complete the share buyback as scheduled, sign all the necessary agreements and execute payments," Norilsk president Andrei Klishas said Friday. He dismissed attempts by the Federal Anti-Monopoly Service and shareholder United Company RusAl to hold up the buyback as "groundless."
RusAl said earlier this month that a letter from the Federal Anti-Monopoly Service confirmed that the share buyback couldn't go ahead without consent from the state. Russia's commission on foreign investment, headed by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, may review the buyback at the behest of the antitrust body, Kommersant reported Friday.
(Bloomberg)