An owner of a 15.8% stake in United Co. Rusal (0486.HK), Sual Partners, is considering selling the stake, Vedomosti daily reported Monday, citing unnamed sources.
However, the paper states that "the deal, if it ever materializes, is very far away."
According to the agreement between Rusal and its shareholders, billionaire Oleg Deripaska's En+, which owns 47.4% in the aluminum giant, has a preemptive right to buy the stake. In case En+ refuses, Sual may sell the stake on the market, but in small portions.
Sual is owned by billionaires Viktor Vekselberg and Len Blavatnik, who, together with another Rusal shareholder, Mikhail Prokhorov, support the sale of a 25% stake in mining company OAO Norilsk Nickel (GMKN.RS), which Rusal owns.