The board of the world's top aluminium producer UC RUSAL said on Monday it had unanimously rejected a $8.75 billion offer by mining giant Norilsk Nickel to buy back its shares.
The $306 per share offer for a 15 percent stake, which represents a 20 percent premium to the weighted average market price for the past six months, was approved by Norilsk's board and was valid until 1400 GMT on Sept. 5.
Norilsk said that it plans now to make a buyback offer to other shareholders.
"Norilsk's board will meeet in the near future to discuss the parametres of the buyback. The date for the meeting has not been set yet," a Norilsk spokeswoman said.
Norilsk Nickel made the buyback offer last month in its third attempt to repurchase the shares and resolve a long-running dispute between rival oligarchs Vladimir Potanin, whose Interros investment company holds about 30 percent of Norilsk, and Oleg Deripaska, who controls RUSAL.
Deripaska's RUSAL paid an estimated $14 billion in cash and stock for its 25 percent Norilsk Nickel stake in 2008. The tycoon had hoped to merge the global leaders in aluminium and nickel production into a national champion, but was outmanoeuvred by Potanin in a battle for control of the Norilsk board.
Analysts said earlier they expected RUSAL to reject the offer.
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