Rusal to Take Norilsk Stake (Folo) VimpelCom to Buy Golden Telecom

United Co. Rusal agreed to buy 25 percent of Norilsk Nickel, one of the biggest mining companies in Russia, and said it would pursue a takeover, Bloomberg reported from Moscow.

Rusal, owned by Oleg Deripaska will purchase the shares from the billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov after his former business partner, Vladimir Potanin, waived the right to make a bid. The stake is valued at $13 billion, based on Norilsk’s closing price Thursday.

A combination of Rusal and Norilsk would have $25 billion in sales, produce 12 percent of the world’s aluminum and more nickel and palladium than anyone else. The company would be the second- largest in Russia, after Gazprom, and challenge BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto Group as a diversified metals producer.

Originally published by Bloomberg News.

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