Jan. 14 （Bloomberg） -- United Co. Rusal, the world's largest aluminum company, filed lawsuits in Russia seeking to stop OAO GMK Norilsk Nickel's planned share buyback.
Rusal's investment management company filed three suits at the Krasnoyarsk arbitration court in Siberia against Norilsk Nickel and affiliates, asking that the "share transaction be declared invalid," the court said on its website.
A Rusal official confirmed by phone it had filed the lawsuits in Krasnoyarsk, declining to comment further.
Billionaire Oleg Deripaska's Rusal, owner of 25 percent of Norilsk, is fighting for control of Russia's largest mining company with fellow shareholder Vladimir Potanin. Deripaska has rebuffed two offers to sell his stake in Norilsk since October.
Norilsk said Dec. 29 it planned to buy back as much as $4.5 billion of stock at above market prices after failing in its latest bid to take back Rusal's stake.
Viktor Borodin, a spokesman for Norilsk, said by phone today that the company hadn't been served with the lawsuits and wasn't aware any legal proceedings had begun.
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